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TOWARDS    PRETORIA 

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TOWARDS 
PRETORIA 


A  Record  of  the  WAR 
between  Briton  and  Boer 
to  the  Relief  of  Kimberley 


By  Julian   Ralph 

Special  War  Correspondent  U  the  ^^ Daily  MaiV 


With  a  Summary  of  Subsequent  Events  to  the 
Hoisting  of  the  British  Flag  at  Bloemfontein 
With  Historical  Foreword^  Appendices  and  Map 


(|^«^«>Sr»<|[t«tft«^  iA»«A»»A»  •<|(*»A»»|r»»A»  www  WW  WW  WW  wwwwf|[»w  w 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  rSqg,  igoo, 
By  JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT. 


Copyright,  1900, 
By  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 


Copyright,  1900, 
By  the  NEW  YORK  HERALD  COMPANY. 


/  have  to  thank  Mr.  Alfred 
Harmsworth  for  his  courtesy  in 
permittiiig  me  to  rep7'odiice  from 
the  ^^  Daily  Mail''  descriptions, 
which  are  here  combined  with  other 
material  to  illustrate  the  British 
advance  "  towards  Pretoria.'" 

As  time  goes  on,  and  fresh  matter 
of  personal  and  Imperial  interest  is 
gathered  from  the  field  of  action, 
further  records  will  be  prepared  on 
similar  lines,  to  car?y  foriuard  and 
complete  the  thrilling  story  of  the 
7var  in  South  Africa  betzveen  Briton 
and  Boer. 

JULIAN    RALPH. 

March,  1900. 


CONTENTS 


HISTORICAL  FOREWORD. 

PART    I. 

PAGE 

THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH    AFRICA I 

PART    II. 

BOER    ULTIMATUM     AND    ARMAMENT 35 

TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

CHAPTER 

I.     CAPETOWN    TRANSFIGURED 43 

II.     SIR    ALFRED    MILNER^S    TRIALS 49 

III.     BRAVE  OFFICERS    AND    RICH    REFUGEES 55 

IV.    THE  BOER    AT    HOME 6 1 

V.     IDLERS    AND    MILLIONAIRES 68 

VI.     CLIMATE    AND  KAFFIRS 74 

VII.     NATAL    AND  LADYSMITH 80 

VIII.    AT    SIR    REDVERS    BULLER's    HEADQUARTERS 97 

IX.    THE  SITUATION  AT  DE  AAR I03 

X.     HEADQUARTERS  DURING  A  BATTLE I08 

XI.     BATTLE    CONDITIONS  ON    THE  VELDT II5 

XII.     DUST  AND  KHAKI 12  2 

XIII.    BATTLE  OF  BELMONT 1 29 

XIV.     BOERS    IN    WAR 135 

XV.     BATTLE  OF  GRASPAN 14I 

XVI.     BATTLE  OF  MODDER  RIVER 147 

XVII.     ECHOES    OF    MODDER    RIVER I58 

vii 


2137848 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVIII.     FILLING    tommy's    WATER-BOTTLE 1 67 

XIX.     BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIX 1 74 

XX.     THE  MESS  OF  THE  WESSEX  FUSILEERS 1 92 

XXI.    THE  PADRE  AND  OUR  FRIEND  THE    ENEMY 1 99 

XXII.    CHRISTMAS  WITH  METHUEn's  ARMY 204 

xxiii.  traits  of  modern  battle 212 

xxiv.  scenes  and  sounds  of  modern  war 219 

xxv.  a  halt  in  modern  war  methods 228 

xxvi.  correspondents  under  fire 236 

xxvii.  an  open  letter  to  a  field-cornet 249 

xxviii.  the  relief  of  kimberley 260 

xxix.  record  of  the  siege 267 

Appendices — 

I.  Chief  Events  of  the  War 277 

II.  Army  Decorations  and  Promotions  for  Gal- 
lantry, etc.,  at  the  Seat  of  War 280 

III.  The  Commands  in  South  Africa 282 

IV.  Tables  of  British  and  Boer  Ordnance 285 

V.  Official  Table  of  Casualties 289 

VI.  Glossary    of    Boer  Terms  and  their   English 
Equivalents,    especially     prepared     by     a 

Johannesburger  for  this  Volume 291 

VII.  The  Presidents'  Telegram  Proposing  Peace, 

and  Lord  Sahsbury's  Reply 293 

VIII.  The  Two  Conventions 296 

IX.  Lord    INIethuen's    Report   on    the    Battle    of 

Maaghersfontein 312 

X.  Summary  of  Events   since  the  Relief  of  Kim- 

berley 315 

Index 3^9 


HISTORICAL    FOREWORD 


HISTORICAL    FOREWORD 


PART  I 

THE  DUTCH   IN   SOUTH   AFRICA 

South  Africa,  or  Africa  south  of  the  Zambesi,  may 
be  described  in  a  few  sentences,  so  that  its  physical 
peculiarities  are  revealed,  and  it  becomes  clear  to  the 
mind's  eye  that  it  is  practically  one  country  by  nature, 
and  must  eventually  be  one  by  government. 

A  high  plateau  of  rolling,  grass-covered  land  falls 
away  abruptly  on  each  sea-shore,  and  at  the  Cape  or 
southernmost  end,  leaving  a  more  or  less  swampy, 
malarial,  and  generally  narrow  margin  between  the 
tableland  and  the  water.  On  the  Indian  Ocean  coast 
lie  Natal,  and  Portuguese  East  Africa ;  and  on  the 
Atlantic  German  South-west  Africa,  and  Portuguese 
West  Africa. 

Except  in  Natal  there  are  few  white  people  in  these 
states,  and,  whatever  influence  they  are  yet  to  exert 
upon  the  development  of  South  Africa,  they  have  not 
yet  begun  to  form,  or  even  to  suggest,  their  own 
hereafter. 


2  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

Of  harbours  there  are,  on  the  west  only  Capetown, 
Saldanha  Bay,  and  Walfish  Bay  in  German  Africa- 
all  English  ports  ;  and  on  the  east  coast  Durban  in 
Natal,  and  Delagoa  Bay  and  Beira  in  the  Portuguese 
strip. 

South  Africa  displays  monotonous  sameness  in  the 
ever-recurring  hills  and  prairies  of  the  interior  plateau. 
The  only  variation  and  relief  to  the  eye  is  at  the  door- 
ways, so  to  speak.  All  around  the  coast,  walling  in 
the  great  middle  tableland,  are  mountain  ranges  rising 
higher  and  higher,  until  they  sometimes  soar  to  a 
height  of  six  thousand  feet  at  sixty  miles  from  the  sea, 
and  to  more  than  three  thousand  feet  at  half  that 
distance  inland. 

In  these  bold  ranges  are  to  be  found  practically  the 
only  beauties  of  scenery  which  South  Africa  possesses. 
Basuto  Land,  which  lies  between  a  part  of  Natal  and 
the  Orange  Free  State,  contains  such  glorious  scenery 
as  to  have  earned  for  it  the  flattering  nickname  of  "  the 
Switzerland  of  South  Africa." 

Part  of  the  mountainous  country  a  little  farther  north, 
inland  from  Delagoa  Bay,  is  also  spoken  of  by  travellers 
as  very  grand  and  beautiful ;  and  this  is  also  true  of 
Manica  Land,  between  Portuguese  East  Africa  and 
Matabeleland,  in  the  British  South  African  Company's 
domain.  ' 

The  English  and  Dutch  dominions,  which  compose 
the  great  tableland,  are  three  thousand  to  five  thousand 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  3 

feet  above  the  sea  level,  so  that,  in  spite  of  the  latitudes 
in  which  they  lie,  they  possess  a  temperate  climate. 
Their  soil  is  very  dry,  with  small  rainfalls,  and  rivers 
which  are  cither  so  full  as  to  render  them  useless  for 
navigation,  or,  during  the  major  part  of  the  year,  nearly 
dried  up. 

It  is  an  empire  of  rolling  land,  desert  in  part,  grass- 
grown  in  the  main — an  imperial  cattle  range,  only  as 
yet  touched  here  and  there  for  agriculture — one  region 
for  one  people,  or,  at  least,  for  uniform  laws  governing 
kindred  interests. 

The  little  pit  at  Kimberley  on  the  edge  of  the  Free 
State,  where  the  diamonds  are  found,  and  the  several 
tiny  punctures  in  the  Veldt  whence  the  Transvaal  gold 
is  taken  out,  are  of  gigantic  value,  but  are  too  small 
to  affect  the  general  rule  that  South  Africa  is  all 
alike,  a  pastoral  region  needing  water  before  it  can  be 
promoted  to  become  a  seat  of  agriculture. 

It  is  a  great,  dry,  almost  burnt  land,  an  empire  of 
solitude  and  silence.  It  is  said  that  though  there  are 
four  million  natives  in  the  older  colonies,  the  average 
traveller  rarely  sees  anything  of  them,  or  any  hint  of 
them  except  their  trails.  As  for  the  white  people  (of 
whom  there  are  not  a  million  in  all  these  lands),  their 
homes  and  villages  are  so  small,  and  scattered  so  far 
apart,  that  they  do  not  often  intrude  upon  the  view  of 
the  tourist. 

There  are  but  two  cities  of  important  size,  and  half  a 


4  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

dozen  of  some  note  as  capitals  or  seaports,  in  that 
entire  half-continent.  "A  vast  solitude  with  a  few- 
oases  of  population,"  is  what  Mr.  Bryce  calls  it ;  and 
he  explains  that  this  is  because  of  the  scanty  means  for 
sustaining  life,  and  the  few  openings  for  industry 
unaided  by  capital,  which  the  country  offers. 

In  considering  this  newly  opened  continent  it  will 
be  less  confusing,  and  in  all  respects  advantageous,  to 
confine  the  matter  to  the  four  better  developed  and 
more  important  dominions ;  the  Cape,  and  Natal, 
colonies  of  England,  the  Orange  Free  State,  and  the 
South  African  Republic  of  the  Boers;  calling  hereafter 
the  larger  Boer  republic  "  The  Transvaal." 

This  is  in  good  truth  only  its  nickname,  and  in 
reality  means  "  across  the  Vaal,"  the  river  which  divides 
the  two  Boer  states ;  but  in  this  case  the  nickname  has 
a  character  and  fitness  of  its  own,  which  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  country's  prosaic  name,  The  South 
African  Republic. 

The  oldest  and  largest  English  settlement.  Cape 
Colony,  is  more  than  twice  as  large  as  Great  Britain, 
and  has  a  population  of  seven  to  the  square  mile.  It 
contains  382,000  white  men,  and  a  million  more  than 
that  number  of  natives.  Of  the  white  people  more 
than  half  are  of  Dutch  descent,  and  the  rest  are  Eng- 
lish. 

Natal  has  less  than  50,000  white  inhabitants,  and  ten 
times  as  many  natives.     It  is  only  about  one-fourteenth 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  5 

the  size  of  Cape  Colony,  or  about  twice  as  large  as 
Wales  or  Massachusetts,  but  it  is  far  more  varied  in 
soil,  climate,  and  future  possibilities  than  the  larger 
British  colony. 

The  Orange  Free  State  is  rather  more  than  a  fifth  of 
the  size  of  Cape  Colony,  and  is  practically  (like  all 
these  dominions  except  Natal)  a  great  pasture  land, 
with  but  little  ground  devoted  to  agriculture ;  and  it 
boasts  but  one  important  town,  Bloemfontein,  its  very 
prepossessing  capital. 

The  Free  State  contains  about  78,cxx)  white  people, 
and  nearly  twice  as  many  natives — the  dominant  race 
being  nearly  all  of  Boer  stock. 

The  Transvaal  is  two-thirds  the  size  of  France,  but 
with  a  population  of  less  than  a  million,  of  whom  not 
quite  a  quarter  (245,000)  are  white  people.  The  Boers 
are  65,000  strong,  and  hold  in  subjection  100,000  Brit- 
ish and  80,000  persons  of  other  European  races. 

In  the  main  the  Transvaal  is  pasture  land  which 
yields  very  poor,  rank  herbage  for  cattle,  and  its  hills 
rise  to  such  mountainous  heights  that  it  is  subject  to 
severe  cold  in  winter,  and  fierce  heat  in  summer.  It 
presents  nothing  to  the  view  which  should  make  any 
one  covet  it,  and  is  an  almost  treeless,  wind-bothered, 
rolling  prairie  of  greatly  varying  value.  Until  gold 
was  found  under  its  surface  in  1885,  the  Boers,  ever  un- 
systematic, unorganised,  and  leaving  all  labour  to  the 
blacks,  had  only  succeeded   in    producing  a  bankrupt 


6  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

State,  which  cried  out  for  help  when  even  its  black 
neighbours  threatened  it. 

What  it  has  since  become  is  due  to  the  discovery  of 
gold,  a  source  of  wealth  and  mischief  of  which  the 
Boers  declared  that  the  less  it  was  disturbed  the  less 
trouble  it  would  make.  Had  they  enforced  this  view 
in  law  and  practice,  and  left  the  gold  where  it  lay,  or 
had  they  forbidden  white  miners  to  work  in  their  coun- 
try, they  might  have  avoided  the  tragedy  towards 
which  fate  has  since  hurried  them.  On  the  contrary, 
they  left  their  mining  resources  to  be  developed  by 
foreigners,  by  taxing  whom  as  no  other  people  on  earth 
are  taxed,  they  have  made  themselves  temporarily 
wealthy,  with  that  most  precarious  of  all  forms  of 
wealth — the  sort  that  is  ill-gotten. 

Those  German,  Hollandish,  and  Jewish  parasites 
who  feed  upon  the  Boers,  and  who  dread  the  ascend- 
ancy of  Anglo-Saxon  methods,  w^hich  would  put  an 
end  to  their  milking  of  the  Transvaal  treasury,  have 
tickled  the  ears  of  some  sentimentalists  in  England,  by 
making  it  appear  that  the  Boers  are  deserving  of  all 
the  sympathy  and  protection  due  to  a  heroic  handful 
who,  against  heavy  odds,  have  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing a  government  of  their  owni. 

A  similar  secret  agency  in  the  United  States,  de- 
ceived the  Americans  with  the  argument  that  the 
Transvaal  is  another  such  country  as  America  was 
after  it  had  seceded  from  England,  and  began  to  carve 


THE  DUTCH   IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  7 

out  its  greatness  amid  the  forests,  and  against  the  sav- 
ages who  compassed  its  sturdy  settlers  on  every  hand. 

Both  these  pictures  are  grotesquely  false,  and  quite 
misleading.  The  one  which  would  make  the  Boer 
republic,  where  industrious  and  wealth-compelling 
foreigners  are  treated  with  contempt,  appear  to  re- 
semble the  American  confederation,  which  has  ever 
offered  full  and  easily  gained  citizenship  to  all  who  ap- 
plied for  it,  would  be  criminal  were  there  any  likelihood 
of  its  bearing  fruit  in  the  form  of  active  American 
sympathy. 

Before  we  deal  with  the  results  of  President  Kruger's 
defiant  boast  that  he  will  "  never  give  anything "  to 
those  who  have  strengthened  the  Transvaal,  and  made 
him  a  very  rich  man,  let  us  examine  the  Boer,  and 
review  his  history  in  South  Africa. 

Out  of  the  conditions  of  solitude  and  silence  of 
small  winnings  wrung  from  danger  and  deprivation,  has 
been  produced  the  Boer — a  type  unknown,  and  in  many 
ways  unapproached,  anywhere  else,  though  a  higher, 
finer,  altogether  nobler  type  of  recluse  was  generated 
in  the  mountain  regions  of  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and 
Kentucky  in  the  American  States  a  century  ago,  to 
send  its  best  descendants  to  the  forefront  in  that 
nation,  and  to  leave  its  weaker  ones  a  disappearing 
fraction  of  small  importance. 

The  unique  type  which  Africa  has  produced  sprang 
from  the  lowliest  birth  in  Holland,  and  has  since  retro- 


8  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

graded  beneath  its  own  poor  beginning,  becoming  less 
enlightened,  less  cleanly,  less  gentle,  and  far  less  amen- 
able to  organisation  and  discipline. 

The  Boer  thus  degraded  has  lost  nothing  in  courage, 
it  is  generally  agreed,  and  has  made  a  distinct  advance 
in  self-reliance,  strengthening  his  love  of  liberty,  and 
license,  and  independence.  The  love  for  loneliness  is 
his  strangest  trait.  That  which  all  other  settlers  in 
new  lands  accept  as  a  hard  necessity,  but  protest 
against  unceasingly,  the  Boer  still  seeks,  insists  upon, 
and  cherishes. 

The  Dutch  made  their  first  South  African  settle- 
ment at  the  Cape  in  1652,  and  six  years  later  began  to 
bring  slaves  from  other  parts,  and  to  press  into  bond- 
age the  natives  close  around  them.  All  forms  of  do- 
mestic service  and  industrial  labour  they  put  upon 
these  blacks,  and  thus  laid  a  curse  upon  South  Africa 
by  making  it  to  this  day,  in  all  the  various  States, 
degrading  for  a  white  man  to  perform  manual  labour. 

To  these  first  settlers  there  came,  thirty-seven  years 
later,  three  hundred  French  Huguenots,  from  among 
the  many  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Holland  after  the 
revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 

These  new-comers  were  men  and  women  of  far 
greater  refinement  and  far  higher  social  status,  of  edu- 
cation and  pride,  fresh  from  participation  in  the  fore- 
most civilising  forces  of  their  time.  They  endeavoured 
to  live  by  themselves,  but  this  effort  was  frustrated  by 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  9 

the  Dutch,  who,  by  both  force  and  adroitness,  quickly 
absorbed  them.  They  forbade  them  the  use  of  their 
mother  tongue,  brought  them  into  the  Dutch  Church, 
scattered  them  among  their  own  Dutch  communities, 
and,  in  time,  by  intermarriage  with  them,  gained  some 
of  the  best  traits  which  now  endure  in  the  Boer  blood. 

On  the  invitation  of  the  Netherlands  Government 
England  seized  Cape  Colony  in  1795,  and  held  it  seven 
years,  when  it  was  restored  to  its  original  rulers.  Five 
years  later,  the  English,  who  had  learned  its  value  as  a 
naval  stronghold,  seized  it  again — this  time  without 
being  invited  to  do  so — and  in  18 14  had  it  ceded  to 
them  upon  payment  of  i^6,ooo,ooo  to  the  Dutch 
Stadtholder. 

At  this  time  the  Dutch  numbered  twenty-seven 
thousand,  and  owned  thirty  thousand  slaves.  English 
emigrants  swelled  the  population,  and  with  any  other 
people  there  would  have  been  almost  a  certainty  of  a 
fusion  of  the  two  races,  but  the  Boer,  restive  and  dis- 
obedient under  all  rule,  is  antagonistic  as  well  when 
his  rulers  are  not  of  his  own  blood. 

Their  highest  aim  at  all  times  is  to  be  under  their 
own  government,  and  then  to  feel  as  free  of  it  as  pos- 
sible, living  by  themselves,  in  widely  separated  house- 
holds, each  dependent  upon  his  own  resources,  and 
fancying  himself  in  the  especial  care  of  the  Almighty, 
whose  inspired  book  is  the  only  literature  he  knows. 
**  Ignorant,  prejudiced,  strongly  attached  to  ', '    '       IJ 


lo  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

habits,  impatient  of  any  control,"  is  how  their  charac- 
ter is  described  by  the  fairest  and  most  careful  of  all 
the  Englishmen  who  have  studied  them  and  their 
history.^ 

Having  forbidden  the  use  of  any  language  except 
the  Dutch,  and  having  re-enforced  this  law  as  soon  as 
they  gained  nationality  anew  in  the  Transvaal,  they 
were  greatly  incensed  that  English  should  be  chosen 
as  the  tongue  to  be  employed  in  the  Cape  Colony  law 
courts  and  their  documents.  More  keenly  still  did 
they  resent  the  endeavours  of  the  English  to  protect 
the  natives  against  their  proverbial  cruelty. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  a  peasantry  which  had 
stagnated  for  two  centuries  would  not  understand  or 
sympathise  with  the  English  abhorrence  of  slavery ; 
and  in  fact  out  of  this,  and  the  Englishman's  determi- 
nation to  protect  the  natives  against  Boer  cruelty,  arose 
that  hatred  of  the  Briton  which  has  waxed  stronger  in 
the  Boer  heart,  until  to-day  the  commonest  name  they 
give  to  an  Englishman  is  "  rotten  egg,''  and  the  po- 
litest phrase  by  which  they  differentiate  him  from  a 
Boer  is  "  redneck." 

They  had  been  refractory,  and  at  times  mutinous, 
under  the  government  of  their  own  people.  They  re- 
mained so  under  the  rule  to  which  their  own  people 
handed  them  over,  or  sold  them.  It  was  in  1834  that- 
Parliament  passed  an  Act  freeing  all  slaves  in  the  Brit- 

1  James  Bryce  in  "  Impressions  of  South  Africa." 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         ii 

ish  dominions  all  over  the  world,  and  thus  added  the 
somewhat  weighty  straw  which  broke  the  back  of  Boer 
endurance. 

The  compensation  granted  to  the  slaveholders  under 
the  flag  was  inadequate,  and  though  as  much  was  al- 
lowed to  South  Africa  as  fell  to  slaveholders  in  other 
colonies,  this  fact  did  not  serve  to  mitigate  the  added 
grievance  to  the  Boers.  Many  writers  grant  them  a 
greater  or  less  measure  of  sympathy,  but  in  absolute 
candour  it  must  be  said  that  this  is  principally  based 
upon  the  fact  that  the  English  methods  of  dealing 
with  the  black  races  differed  from  their  own,  and  to 
sympathise  with  them  must  necessarily  be  to  disparage 
nineteenth  centuiy  principles  of  justice. 

The  Boers  enslaved  the  native,  and  treated  him 
harshly  both  in  slavery,  and  in  their  relations  with  him 
in  his  wild  state.  Their  cruelty  was  spied  upon  and 
reported  by  British  missionaries,  and  punished  by  the 
Government  ;  then  Boer  quarrels  and  conflicts  with  the 
natives  gained  for  the  blacks  the  protection  of  the 
English,  and  finally  their  slaves  were  set  free,  in  com- 
mon with  all  slaves  held  under  the  British  flag. 

Upon  these  statements  both  sides  agree,  and  it  seems 
that  the  only  sympathy  we  can  feel  for  the  Boers  is 
that  which  they  continue  to  deserve — that  which  be- 
longs to  men  of  seventeenth-century  ways,  who  find 
themselves  three  centuries  behind  the  ideas  and  influ- 
ences which  hedge  them  round. 


12  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

Had  the  Boers  been  people  of  noble  nature,  of  fine 
instincts,  kindly,  and  with  high  and  broad  aspirations, 
had  they  redeemed,  or  even  made  an  effort  to  redeem, 
a  great  wilderness,  and  put  it  in  the  path  along  which 
the  progressive  nations  of  the  globe  were  tending;  had 
they  shown  due  regard  for  education,  religious  liberty, 
and  the  dignity  of  white  labour  ;  had  they  sought  to 
produce  and  to  manufacture  what  even  their  simple 
needs  demanded,  and  to  render  themselves  self-support- 
ing, very  different  would  be  the  judgment  of  the  world, 
nor  would  its  verdict  be  the  death-sentence  which  now 
seems  most  likely  to  be  passed  upon  them. 

Had  they,  with  all  their  uncouthness,  been  men  of 
high  resolve  and  broad  capacity,  the  feelings  which  some 
seek  to  rouse  In  us  on  their  behalf  would  be  stirred  in 
every  fair  man's  heart.  But  this  is  so  far  from  the  case 
that  all  the  weight  of  their  "  secret  fund  "  has  not  been 
able  to  create  the  belief  that  they  are  a  virtuous  hand- 
ful, struggling  to  create  a  government  based  on  lofty 
ideals  ;  has  not  been  able  to  raise  a  single  nation  to 
speak  or  move  upon  their  behalf. 

The  effort  to  compare  them  with  the  Founders  of 
the  North  American  Republic  Is  to  belittle  the  intelli- 
gence of  every  American  who  has  informed  himself 
upon  the  Boers'  history.  The  petty,  squalid  record  of 
the  Boer  leaders  no  more  matches  the  heroic  course  of 
the  American  patriots,  than  the  life  of  Stephen  John 
Paul    Kruger   parallels   that   of   George   Washington. 


THE  DUTCH   IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         13 

Indeed,  whoever  would  spare  himself  all  greater  trouble, 
and  still  reach  the  same  just  result,  can  simply  contrast 
the  portraits  of  the  two  Fathers  of  their  Countries,  and 
feel  secure  in  what  conclusion  he  may  draw  from  this 
comparison. 

Disgusted  by  the  freeing  of  their  slaves,  the  Boers 
made  what  they  call  the  ''  Great  Trek"  in  1836  into  a 
new  territory,  which  offered  them  an  opportunity  to 
lead  the  solitary,  almost  nomad  lives  which  to-day  they 
still  relish  as  the  very  consummation  of  desire. 

The  imperial  spirit  in  full  measure  was  not  then  upon 
Great  Britain,  nor  did  her  rulers  show  that  pride  and 
foresight  which  defeated  secession  in  the  American 
States  twenty-nine  years  later.  They  allowed  the 
Boers  to  go,  and,  like  the  constable  of  Shakespeare's 
creation,  '^  thanked  God  they  were  rid  of  a  vil- 
lain." 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  in  the  course  of  two 
years  about  ten  thousand  Boers  made  the  journey 
northward  and  eastward  in  their  waggons,  each  head 
of  a  family  carrying  his  Bible  and  his  gun,  and — so 
short  is  this  nation's  history,  and  so  quickly  do  events 
march — among  them  strode  a  lad  who  has  come  to  be 
the  President  of  this  day,  and  who,  on  that  long  trek, 
may  have  had  riveted  upon  his  mind  the  extraordinary 
conviction,  or  hallucination,  which,  at  the  end  of  sixty 
years,  was  to  lead  him  to  defy  progress,  justice,  and 
the  principles  of  liberty,  fraternity,  and  equality,  while 


14  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

boasting  that  he  would  "  never  give  anything  "  to  the 
majority  of  people  under  his  rule. 

In  the  belief  that  they  had  freed  themselves  from 
the  domination  of  foreigners,  they  began  to  establish 
their  present  republics  upon  the  elevated  plateau  of 
the  interior.  Hardship,  tragedy,  wars  with  the  natives, 
and  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life  in  an  unbroken  country 
inhabited  by  savages,  attended  them,  but  they  clung 
sturdily  to  their  purpose. 

At  nearly  the  same  time  a  large  and  better  organised 
band  of  Boers,  led  by  Pieter  Retief,  marched  into  what 
is  now  Natal,  and  all  that  resulted  there  did  not  by  any 
means  serve  to  allay  the  hatred  of  the  Boer  for  the 
Briton.  Durban  (then  Port  Natal)  had  already  been 
formed  by  the  English,  but  the  Government  refused  to 
establish  its  rule  over  the  new  territory. 

This  proved  to  be  one  of  many  instances  of  unwise 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Colonial  Office,  at  the  time 
when  Great  Britain  fancied  that  she  needed  no  more 
colonies,  and  that  those  which  she  already  possessed 
should  be  left  to  struggle  for  themselves. 

When  the  Boers  began  to  pour  into  Natal  in  1838,  a 
garrison  was  sent  by  the  Cape  Government  to  the  little 
east  coast  port,  but  the  Crown  refused  to  annex  the 
region,  and  the  garrison  was  recalled. 

Shortly  after  this  they  made  war  upon  the  Zulus 
in  Natal,  established  their  own  city  of  Pietermaritzburg, 
and  began  to  parcel  out  the  land.     At  once,  the  British 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         15 

sent  troops  there  to  assert  English  sovereignty,  and 
the  Boer  forces  dispersed.  Only  five  hundred  remained 
in  the  new  Colony  ;  the  others  crossed  the  mountains 
and  joined  their  compatriots  in  the  two  republics. 

Thus  an  end  was  put  to  a  third  Boer  republic,  which 
existed  only  six  years. 

The  participants  in  the  "  Great  Trek "  were  now 
about  fifteen  thousand  strong,  and  were  attempting  to 
govern  a  territory  seven  hundred  miles  long  and  three 
hundred  miles  wide.  Great  Britain  had  never  ceased  to 
regard  them  as  her  subjects,  and  still  declared  them 
such,  yet  did  nothing  to  interfere  with  their  course, 
or  with   the  governments  they  set  up. 

At  first  the  Boers  bound  themselves  by  slender  ties 
into  many  little  republican  communities,  each  of  which 
had  a  volksraad  or  people's  council.  This  was  more 
especially  the  case  in  what  is  now  the  Transvaal.  The 
Boers  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Vaal  River,  where 
now  is  the  Orange  Free  State,  had  no  government,  and 
did  not  recognise  any  of  the  little  governments  of  the 
Transvaal. 

They  were  at  last  roused  into  nationalisation  by  a 
sudden  movement  of  Great  Britain,  which,  in  pursuance 
of  a  plan  for  ensuring  peace  near  the  borders  of  its 
colonies,  annexed  the  land  between  the  northern  border 
of  Cape  Colony  and  the  Vaal  River,  and  called  it  the 
Orange  River  Sovereignty.  The  handful  of  unor- 
ganized Boers  rose  in  arms,  and  with  the  help  of  armed 


i6  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

men  from  the  Transvaal  country,  commanded  by 
Andries  Pretorius,  they  captured  Bloemfontein  from 
the  British  resident.  They  were  as  readily  repulsed, 
however,  by  troops  under  Sir  Harry  Smith,  and  again 
their  country  became  an   English  colony. 

Peace  was  not  yet  produced.  War  broke  out 
between  a  negro  tribe  and  the  British  authorities  in  the 
Orange  River  Sovereignty,  Pretorius  threatened  to 
assist  the  Kaffirs,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  Cape 
colonists  Vv-ere  at  vrar  with  natives  on  the  coast.  At  this 
juncture  Pretorius  offered  to  come  to  definite  terms 
with  Great  Britain,  and  there  followed  the  Sand  River 
Convention  of  1852. 

At  that  Convention  it  was  agreed  that  Great  Britain 
'*  guaranteed  to  the  emigrant  farmers  beyond  the  Vaal 
River  the  right  to  manage  their  own  affairs,  and  to 
govern  themselves  according  to  their  own  laws,  without 
any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment ;  "  the  Boers,  in  return,  promising  to  make  no 
alliance  with  any  of  the  natives  north  of  the  Vaal 
River,  and  to  permit  no  slavery  in  their  country. 

This  convention  gave  birth  to  the  Transvaal  or  South 
African  Republic,  which  was  thereafter  slowly  formed 
out  of  the  little  governments  which  had  existed  there. 
Accepting  this,  then,  as  the  basis  of  the  relation 
between  the  British  and  the  Transvaal  Boers,  we  see 
that  Great  Britain  assumed  the  right  to  impose  condi- 
tions, upon  which  she  granted  what  rights  the  Boers 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         i; 

held,  and  this  British  overlordship  was  acknowledged 
by  them  without  protest. 

A  lukewarm  interest  in  all  her  colonies,  amounting 
to  a  willingness  to  rid  herself  of  any  that  occasioned 
trouble  or  expense,  still  marked  England's  policy. 
Her  forces  in  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty  met  with 
reverses  at  the  hands  of  the  natives,  and  when  these 
foes  at  last  expressed  a  desire  for  peace  the  Govern- 
ment decided  to  withdraw  from  the  colony  altogether. 

The  Orange  River  settlers  were  to  a  great  extent 
British  and  pro-British,  and  many  of  them  appealed  to 
England  to  reconsider  her  policy.  No  attention  was 
paid  to  them,  and  at  a  Convention  at  Bloemfontein  in 
1854  the  British  guaranteed  the  future  independence  of 
the  country  and  its  government,  forbade  the  holding  of 
slaves  there,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Transvaal, 
offered  to  the  new  people  the  right  to  buy  areas  in  the 
British  colony,  according  liberal  concessions  in  the 
matter  of  import  duties  as  well. 

To  the  Orange  Free  State  Great  Britain  gave  a  more 
positive  declaration  of  independence  than  had  been 
given  to  the  Transvaal ;  snd  the  Free  State  people,  a 
far  more  orderly  and  reasonable  community  than  the 
Transvaal  Boers,  long  remained  in  unbroken  peace 
with  their  English  neighbours,  in  spite  of  an  untoward 
occurrence  of  great  moment  which  happened  in  1869. 

The   discovery    of   diamonds   at    Kimberley  led    to 

counter   claims  for  the    territory  in    which  they   were 
2 


i8  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

found.  The  Free  State  claimed  it,  assertions  of  owner- 
ship were  also  made  by  the  Transvaal,  a  native  chief, 
and  a  Griqua  half-breed  named  Waterboer.  The  arbi- 
trator agreed  upon  by  all  except  the  Orange  Free  State 
was  the  Governor  of  Natal,  who,  by  reason  of  the  mis- 
management of  the  cases  for  the  other  parties,  decided 
.in  favour  of  Waterboer.  Waterboer  put  himself  under 
British  protection,  and  the  Government  created  a  new 
colony  with  the  territory,  and  called  it  Griqualand. 
This  is  now  a  part  of  Cape  Colony. 

Later  still,  on  fresh  appeal,  an  English  court  decided 
that  Waterboer  had  no  rights  in  the  case.  The  Orange 
Free  State,  which  had  by  far  the  best  case,  did  not  re- 
linquish its  claim,  but  accepted  ;^90,ooo  in  satisfaction, 
and  thus  the  incident  was  closed  without  friction  or 
lasting  discontent. 

In  proof  that  the  Boers  of  the  Free  State  were  su- 
perior to  their  neighbors  in  the  Transvaal,  James  Bryce 
speaks  of  the  Transvaal  Dutch  as  more  rude  and  un- 
educated than  those  of  the  Free  State,  with  no  admix- 
ture of  English  blood,  and  unaffected  by  intercourse 
with  the  more  civilised  people  of  Cape  Colony. 

Their  love  of  independence  was  accentuated  by  a 
tendency  to  discord.  Their  warlike  spirit  had  produced 
a  readiness  to  take  up  arms  on  slight  occasion,  and  had 
degenerated  into  a  fondness  for  predatory  expeditions. 
They  were  constantly  endeavouring  to  extend  their 
borders  to  the  north,  and  one  party  among  them  even 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         19 

attempted  the  capture  of  the  Free  State.  Then  came 
the  Sand  River  Convention  of  1852,  already  mentioned, 
and  by  i860  their  little  governments  had  united  upon 
the  basis  of  a  common  constitution  called  the  ''  Groud- 
wet,"  or  fundamental  law. 

Even  after  this  they  kept  up  frequent  and  savage 
wars  with  the  natives,  which  were  attended  by  fearful 
massacres  on  one  side  and  savage  retaliation  on  the 
other.  They  subjected  still  other  natives  to  an  en- 
forced bondage  hard  to  distinguish  from  slavery.  They 
vv^ould  pay  no  taxes,  resorted  to  primitive  modes  of 
barter  because  of  an  almost  general  absence  of  money, 
and  neither  realised  the  capabilities  of,  nor  benefited 
by,  the  makeshift  they  called  a  government. 

The  treasury  soon  became  empty,  and  practically 
every  Boer  made  his  own  pleasure  his  law.  During 
this  condition  of  their  affairs  they  engaged  in  a  disas- 
trous war  v/ith  a  Kafir  chief,  and  were  threatened  with 
attack  by  the  powerful  Zulus.  A  British  commissioner 
was  sent  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  affairs  there, 
and  reported  that  a  majority  of  the  people  desired  an- 
nexation to  Great  Britain. 

There  were  remonstrances  and  counter  petitions,  and 
the  critics  are  at  odds  as  to  the  justice  of  the  British 
action,  but  what  is  undeniable  is  that  the  Boers  sub- 
mitted quietly  to  the  change,  and  offered  no  resistance 
until  order  had  been  produced  out   of  the  confusion 


20  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

into  which  they  had  fallen.  Thus,  in  1877,  the  Trans- 
vaal was  annexed  to  Great  Britain. 

Had  the  attention  of  the  Government  not  been  dis- 
tracted by  weightier  affairs  in  Europe,  the  blunders 
which  marked  its  subsequent  deahngs  with  this  new 
colony  could  not  have  been  made,  and  South  Africa 
would  have  been  thus  early  liberated  from  the  heritage 
of  discord,  disloyalty,  and  narrow  peasant  leadership 
with  which  nearly  all  its  political  parts  had  been  cursed. 
However,  the  new  English  rulers  missed  their  chance, 
and  eventually  magnified  these  evils. 

As  we  have  since  found  to  our  cost,  they  delayed 
the  establishment  of  self-government  which  had  been 
promised  to  their  new  subjects,  and  appointed  a  gov- 
ernor wholly  unfitted  for  so  delicate  a  task.  They  then 
removed  the  two  prime  causes  that  led  the  Boers  to 
acquiesce  in  the  change  of  rulership — they  established 
a  wise  plan  of  government,  restored  order,  and  de- 
stroyed the  power  of  those  natives  tribes  which  had 
threatened  the  Boers  with  annihilation. 

Freed  from  their  enemies,  and  disappointed  in  their 
new  guardians,  the  Transvaal  Boers  revolted,  and  at- 
tacked the  British  troops,  with  the  result  that  the 
battles  of  Laing's  Neck  and  Majuba  Hill  were  recorded 
in  the  pages  of  history,  and  were  fated  to  grow  from 
the  smallest  of  encounters  to  the  most  tremendous 
memories  in  the  minds  of  both  victors  and  vanquished. 

The  British  at  that  eventful  period  were  wholly  un- 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         21 

prepared  to  fight,  and  the  Boers  were  equally  unable 
to  match  them  if  they  had  been  ready ;  but  the  Dutch- 
men won,  and  straightway  fancied  themselves  in  God's 
keeping,  and  unconquerable.  The  British,  on  the  other 
hand,  magnified  their  own  defeat  in  the  light  of  what 
their  soldiers  could  have  done  had  not  their  reinforce- 
ments been  called  off. 

At  the  time  that  the  Boers  revolted  the  only  British 
troops  were  small  scattered  detachments.  After  their 
defeats  they  gathered  a  force  which  must  have  quickly 
and  for  ever  ended  Boer  mischief  and  misrule  in  Africa  ; 
but  the  home  Government,  under  Gladstone,  ordered 
an  armistice,  and  made  a  new  treaty,  March,  1881,  with 
the  Boers,  granting  them  self-government  under  British 
suzerainty.  This  was  formally  ratified  in  the  following 
autumn. 

The  Transvaal  thus  entered  upon  a  new  phase,  and 
became  a  quasi-independent  State  under  British  sover- 
eignty, subject  to  British  control  in  matters  of  foreign 
policy,  to  the  passage  of  British  troops  through  it  in 
time  of  war,  and  to  the  giving  of  guarantees  for  the 
protection  of  the  natives.  It  is  worth  noting,  as  it 
will  be  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  that  Great  Britain  did 
not  vacate  the  paternal  relation  to  these  people  and 
their  State  which  it  had  declared  at  the  outset,  when 
the  ''  Great  Trek,"  or  secession  of  the  Boers,  took  place 
forty-five  years  before. 
.    The  home  Government  resisted  the   inclination  to 


22  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

punish  the  Boers  for  their  assaults  upon  its  troops, 
because  it  was  predicted  that  a  racial  war  would  break 
out  all  over  South  Africa  if  the  Transvaal  should  be 
invaded.  And  yet  we  nov/  see  that  this  very  magna- 
nimity produced  the  conditions  for  such  a  war,  or  rather, 
for  the  destruction  of  British  rule  on  that  half  conti- 
nent, unless  a  subsequent  resort  to  arms  should  restore 
unquestioned  British  supremacy. 

The  petty  victories  at  Laing's  Neck  and  Majuba  Hill 
so  inflamed  the  vanity  of  the  Boers,  that  in  both  the 
Dutch  States  and  in  the  English  colonies  they  ever 
afterwards  boasted  that  one  Boer  was  equal  to  ten  or 
twenty  English  soldiers. 

Thus  infatuated,  and  rendered  more  than  ever  am- 
bitious by  the  sudden  enrichment  of  the  Transvaal  con- 
sequent upon  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  nursing  an 
idle  dream  of  one  day  conquering  all  South  Africa, 
they  treasured  a  project,  based  upon  conspiracy  and 
violence,  for  ending  British  rule  upon  that  soil. 

Their  plan  in  its  conception  offered  nothing  to  the 
world  at  large,  but  was  wholly  selfish,  and  unjust  to  all 
others  concerned.  Since  it  stood  for  organised  opposi- 
tion to  the  progress  of  Christendom,  it  became  evident 
that  the  British  must  embrace  the  next  opportunity  to 
assert  themselves  and  must  do  so  Avith  a  blow  more 
certainly  decisive  than  Sir  Evelyn  Wood  could  have 
struck  had  he  been  allowed  to  advance  his  force  in 
i88r. 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         23 

After  Majuba  Hill  the  issue  was  not  merely  to  be  the 
continuance  or  finish  of  Boer  independence ;  upon  it 
hung  the  preservation  or  the  loss  of  all  her  South 
African  colonies  to  Great  Britain ! 

Unlike  any  other  considerable  body  of  colonists  or 
emigrants  of  European  stock  of  whom  we  possess 
knowledge,  these  Boers  had  markedly  retrograded. 
During  the  lifetime  of  a  generation  they  had  been  cut 
off  from  the  world,  and,  to  a  surprising  extent,  even 
from  companionship  with  one  another.  They  had  ex- 
isted without  books,  without  contact  with  any  of  the 
intellectual  or  progressive  influences  that  moved  man- 
kind, without  schools,  almost  without  money — a  com- 
munity of  isolated  families,  each  living  wholly  apart, 
and  for  itself. 

Perhaps  in  the  establishment  of  churches  they  ap- 
peared to  show  progress,  but  it  was  merely  in  appear- 
ance, for  these  were  in  constant  strife  with  one  another. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  individual  valour,  in  love  of  in- 
dependence, and  a  degree  of  liberty  which  trespassed 
upon  licence,  and  in  their  eagerness  to  combine  against 
a  foe,  they  were  believed  to  have  lost  nothing. 

It  is  claimed  that  from  the  day  of  the  restoration  of 
their  country  to  the  Boers  they  exhibited  a  very  slight 
regard  for  their  treaty  obligations.  Certainly  they 
compelled  the  British  to  oppose  their  aims.  They 
sought  to  extend  their  borders  in  three  directions  and, 
above  all,  to   reach  the  sea.     They  planned  the  occu- 


24  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

pation  of  Mashonaland ;  they  entered  Zululand  and 
added  three  thousand  square  miles  of  it  to  their  repub- 
lic ;  and  they  invaded  Bechuanaland  and  established 
their  two  petty  governments  which  Great  Britain 
caused  them  to  abandon. 

During  all  this  time  they  tried  to  secure  a  greater 
measure  of  independence,  getting  it  in  1884  by  means 
of  a  new  treaty.  This  bound  them  to  make  no  alli- 
ance with  any  other  Power,  foreign  or  native,  except- 
ing the  Free  State,  and  to  forbid  slavery  in  their  re- 
public. It  gave  them  a  *'  most  favoured  nation  '* 
clause,  with  provisions  for  the  good  treatment  of  for- 
eigners living  and  trading  in  the  Transvaal.^ 

As  this  new  treaty  did  not  actually  repeat  the  Brit- 
ish declaration  of  suzerainty,  the  Boers  declared  it  to 
be  abandoned.  The  British  reply  to  this  is  that  the 
Convention  of  1881,  which  asserts  their  suzerainty,  is 
not  affected  by  the  changes  of  1884,  which  were  made 
only  in  some  of  the  articles  which  follow  that  declara- 
tion. 

1  At  a  meeting  out  of  which  grew  the  new  Convention  of  1884,  the 
following  conversation  occurred  between  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  and 
Sir  Evelyn  Wood  for  the  Crown,  and  Mr.  Kruger  for  the  Boers  : — 

Sir  H.  Robinson  :  Before  annexation,  had  British  subjects  complete 
freedom  of  trade  throughout  ?  Were  they  on  the  same  footing  as  citi- 
zens of  the  Transvaal  ? 

Mr.  Kruger  :  They  were  on  the  same  footing  as  the  burghers.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  difference,  in  accordance  \\'ith  the  Sand  River 
Convention. 

Sir  H.  Robinson  :  I  trust  you  will  not  object  to  that  continuing. 

Mr.  Kruger  :  No  ;  there  will  be  equal  protection  for  anybody. 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA        25 

The  Convention  of  1884  is  explicit  as  to  its  limita- 
tions. It  declares  that  "her  Majesty  has  been  pleased 
to  direct,  and  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  the  following 
articles  of  a  new  Convention  .  .  .  shall,  when  ratified 
by  the  Volksraad  of  the  South  African  Republic,  be 
substituted  for  the  articles  embodied  in  the  Convention 
of  August  3,  1881." 

The  contention  of  the  Boers,  therefore,  is  a  mere 
quibble.  They  did  not  ask  for  the  abandonment  of 
the  British  right  of  suzerainty,  and  the  subject  was 
not  mentioned  in  the  meeting  at  which  the  Boers  ob- 
tained the  changes  for  which  they  asked.  Moreover, 
the  practical  application  of  the  suzerainty,  as  shown 
in  the  command  that  the  Transvaal  make  no  treaties 
with  foreign  Powers  except  through  her  Majesty's  dip- 
lomatic and  consular  officers  abroad,  is  renewed  in 
Article  4  of  the  new  Convention. 

Dr.  Theal  says,  in  his  short  history  of  South  Africa, 
that  at  about  this  time  the  Boers  held  themselves  to 
be  treated  by  England  in  a  manner  both  unfriendly 
and  unjust.  The  delay  in  the  transferring  of  Swazi- 
land to  the  Transvaal,  and  the  final  bottling  up  of  the 
republic  by  the  British  annexation  of  the  land  be- 
tween Natal  and  the  Portuguese  possessions,  were  the 
chief  acts  of  which  the  Boers  complained. 

Sir  Evelyn  Wood  :  And  equal  pri\ileges  ? 

Mr.  Kruger  :  We  make  no  difference  as  far  as  burgher  rigTits  are 
concerned.  There  may,  perhaps,  be  some  slight  difference  in  the  case 
of  a  young  person  who  has  just  come  into  the  country. 


26  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

Re-established  as  a  nation,  a  material  change  in 
their  condition  came  with  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the 
Witwatersrand  (white  water's  ridge)  about  1885. 

With  the  sudden  inrush  of  new  settlers  of  European 
birth,  and  the  enrichment  of  the  little  republic  by  its 
taxes  upon  the  new  industry,  have  arisen  the  griev- 
ances of  the  Uitlanders,  the  project  of  rebellion  on 
their  part,  the  bungling  raid  by  Jameson,  and,  finally, 
the  effort  of  the  British  Government  to  assert  that 
suzerainty,  or  overlordship,  which  it  declares  it  has 
never  surrendered. 

These  very  recent  events  are  so  fresh  in  the  mem- 
ory of  the  world  that  there  is  no  need  to  retell  their 
story  here.  What  is  more  to  the  point  is  to  state  pre- 
cisely the  extent  and  nature  of  the  complaints  which 
the  Uitlanders  have  lodged  at  the  court  of  universal 
public  opinion,  against  President  Kruger  and  his 
supporters. 

Since  the  Boers  often  drag  in  the  great  American 
Republic  for  purposes  of  comparison,  it  may  be  of  in- 
terest to  say  that  the  case  of  the  Uitlanders  in  the 
Transvaal  in  1899,  and  that  of  the  colonists  in  Amer- 
ica in  1776,  are  in  truth  very  much  alike,  and,  "  no 
taxation  without  representation,"  once  the  cry  of  the 
misgoverned  Transatlantic  emigrants,  is  now  the 
watchword  of  the  Uitlanders. 

The  revenue  of  the  Transvaal  has  grown  to  more 
than  ;£"4,ooo,cx)0  from  ;£"i78,cxx)  in  1885,  ^^^  this  has 


THE  DUTCH   IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         27 

been  wholly  due  to  the  energy  and  industry  of  the 
Uitlanders.  They  number  three-quarters  of  the  white 
population,  and  yet  are  governed  by  a  parliament 
elected  by  one-quarter — a  body,  moreover,  which  is 
controlled  by  a  government  that  is  pledged  to  with- 
draw their  rights  from  them.  As  M.  Rouliot,  a 
Frenchman,  who  is  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Mines 
at  Johann-esburg,  has  declared,  "we  are  the  most  heav- 
ily taxed  community  in  the  world,  though  we  are  the 
one  that  has  least  voice  in  the  use  of  the  funds  it 
contributes." 

Furthermore,  as  Mr.  Spencer  Wilkinson  summarises 
the  situation  in  his  digest  of  history  called  "  British 
Policy  in  South  Africa,"  the  Boer  Government  has 
broken  its  pledge  to  accord  equal  treatment  to  foreign 
settlers,  by  determinedly  withdrawing  the  right  of 
representation,  by  its  concession  of  a  monopoly  for 
the  sale  of  the  dynamite  used  in  the  mines,  by  its  un- 
just press  law,  and  by  its  Aliens  Expulsion  Act,  under 
which  any  foreigner  can  be  expelled  from  the  republic 
without  trial,  or  proven  guilty  of  any  offence. 

The  Boer  Government  has  permitted  the  theft  of 
three-quarters  of  a  million  pounds'  worth  of  gold  annu- 
ally, it  has  connived  at  the  sale  of  liquor  to  the  native 
mine  labourers  in  contravention  of  its  own  laws,  its 
agents  have  assaulted  British  citizens,  and  murdered  one 
without  offering  apology  or  reparation ;  they  have 
broken    up   an   orderly  meeting   of   Uitlanders;   and 


28  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

degraded  their  own  courts  of  justice.  To  this  list  Mr. 
James  Bryce  adds  these  other  grounds  of  complaint : — ■ 

''Thinking  of  South  Africa  as  practically  one  coun- 
try, they  (the  Uitlanders)  complained  that  here,  and 
here  only,  were  they  treated  as  aliens  and  inferiors. 
Food  was  incredibly  dear  because  a  high  tariff  had  been 
imposed  on  imports.  Water  supply,  police,  and  sani- 
tation were  all  neglected.  Not  only  was  Dutch  the 
official  language,  but  in  the  public  schools  Dutch  was 
the  only  medium  of  instruction,  and  English  children 
were  compelled  to  learn  arithmetic,  geography,  and 
history  out  of  Dutch  text  books.  It  was  these  abuses 
that  disposed  them  to  revolt  against  a  government 
which  they  despised." 

It  was  in  1892  that  they  attempted  the  reasonable 
and  pacific  method  of  agitation  by  argument.  They 
founded  a  National  Union  at  Johannesburg  and  pub- 
lished a  statement  of  their  grievances  in  Dutch  for 
circulation  among  ths  Boers.  Next,  they  held  a  pub- 
lic meeting,  passed  resolutions,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  wait  upon  President  Kruger.  It  was  to 
these  gentlemen  that  the  Boer  leader  said,  "  Cease 
holding  public  meetings  and  be  satisfied  ;  go  back  to 
your  people  and  tell  them  I  shall  never  give  them 
anything." 

Two  years  later,  in  1894,  thirteen  thousand  Uitland- 
ers signed  a  petition  asking  for  the  franchise,  and 
in    1895    thirty-eight   thousand    five   hundred    signed 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         29 

another,  which  was,  like  the  first,  rejected  by  the 
Volksraad. 

Then  came  that  effort  towards  revolt  which  was 
frustrated  by  the  impatient  act  of  Dr.  Jameson  before 
the  Uitlanders  could  secure  arms ;  and  finally,  after 
another  two  years  of  still  growing  discontent,  began 
the  efforts  of  the  home  Government  to  secure  from 
President  Kruger  such  concessions  as  should  establish 
fair  business  conditions,  and  a  tolerable  political 
status,  for  the  persecuted  majority  of  white  residents 
in  the  republic. 

The  conference  and  correspondence  during  1899  be- 
tween Sir  Alfred  Milner  and  President  Kruger  were 
mainly  concerned  with  the  British  demand  for  a  more 
just  mode  of  meeting  the  Uitlanders*  demand  for  citi- 
zens* rights  in  the  Transvaal. 

The  law,  as  framed  at  the  time  the  last  treaty  was 
made  between  the  two  countries,  fixed  five  years  as 
the  required  term  of  residence  ;  but,  with  the  inrush 
of  foreigners  upon  the  discovery  of  gold,  the  Boers 
enacted  a  new  law,  under  which  no  person  not  a  burgher, 
or  a  son  of  a  burgher,  could  acquire  full  citizenship  in 
less  than  fourteen  years,  or  before  the  age  of  forty. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fourteen  years  he  must 
renounce  allegiance  to  his  former  country,  and  declare 
himself  a  subject  of  the  Transvaal  ;  and  at  the  end  of 
the  fourteen  years  he  was  to  have  the  right — not  to  a 
vote — but  to  ask  for  one  at  the  hands  of  the  Volksraad, 


30  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

which  might  then  refuse  it.  The  true  purposes  of  this 
law,  as  well  as  its  injustice,  are  too  apparent  to  need 
pointing  out. 

Sir  Alfred  Milner  asked  for  the  re-enactment  of  the 
original  law,  in  force  when  the  Transvaal  pledged  itself 
to  give  every  British  resident  "  the  enjoyment  of  all 
civil  rights,  and  protection  to  their  lives  and  property." 
President  Kruger  offered  to  submit  a  bill  giving  the 
franchise  in  seven  years,  two  of  which  should  be  years 
of  waiting,  and  five  for  the  completion  of  naturalisation. 

The  High  Commissioner  declined  to  accept  terms 
which  required  a  man  to  abandon  his  old  allegiance, 
and  take  a  half-citizenship  years  before  he  could  ac- 
quire full  rights  in  the  new  country.  The  conference  was 
broken  off,  and  the  Volksraad  passed  a  law  nominally 
requiring  an  enfranchisement  term  of  seven  years,  but 
in  reality  preventing  the  enfranchisement  of  any 
Uitlanders  who  have  lived  in  the  Transvaal  less  than 
nine  years. 

But  the  pith  of  the  matter  is  outside  of  and  far  more 
important  than  this.  It  is  that  in  this  matter  of  the 
treatment  of  the  foreign  resident,  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment and  the  Afrikander  Bond — or  union  of  the 
leading  Boers  all  over  South  Africa — are  acting  in 
concert. 

This  Bond  urges  disloyalty  to  the  British  upon  those 
citizens  who  are  of  Dutch  stock.  It  preaches  an  offen- 
sive policy  ;  it  advocates  the  repudiation  of  British 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA        31 

supremacy,  and  the  prevention  of  redress  to  the 
Uitlanders  until  Great  Britain  has  surrendered  her 
rights.  Thus  one  race  is  secretly  pledged  to  drive  the 
other  out  of  South  Africa,  and  this  other  race,  the 
British,  is  forced  (in  the  view  of  Sir  Alfred  Milner 
among  others)  to  demonstrate  its  power  and  its  justice 
by  obtaining  for  the  Uitlander  the  rights  to  which  he 
is  entitled. 

The  strained  relations  between  the  Uitlanders  and 
the  Transvaal  Boers,  and  the  manifest  disinclination 
of  President  Kruger  to  do  anything  towards  remedying 
what  was  complained  of,  led  to  a  conference  between 
the  High  Commissioner,  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  and 
President  Kruger  at  Bloemfontein,  in  the  Free  State. 

In  May,  1899,  Sir  Alfred  Milner  told  the  President 
that  if  he  would  change  his  policy  toward  the 
Uitlanders  before  things  got  worse,  and  take  steps  to 
satisfy  the  reasonable  ones  among  them,  who  were, 
after  all,  the  great  majority  in  his  country,  the  indepen- 
dence of  his  republic  would  be  strengthened,  and  it 
would  be  easier  to  settle  other  questions  between  the 
two  Governments. 

The  High  Commissioner  declared  that  no  proposal 
he  would  make  should  threaten  the  control  of  the 
country  by  the  burghers,  but  President  Kruger  showed 
no  inclination  to  meet  any  of  the  offers  made  to  him, 
except  one  bearing  on  the  form  of  oath  to  be  adminis- 
tered to  intending  citizens. 


32  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

At  the  second  conference  of  these  ambassadors  of 
their  respective  countries  the  wily  old  Boer  President 
took  up  much  of  the  time  with  subjects  not  proposed 
to  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  or  bearing  upon  those  he 
broached. 

Thus  he  talked  of  a  recent  petition  of  the  British 
in  the  Transvaal  to  the  Queen  as  being  bogus,  com- 
plained of  the  arrival  of  British  troops  in  the  British 
colonies  near  by,  and  declared  that  the  proposition  to 
grant  the  reasonable  requests  of  the  foreigners,  who 
had  made  his  country  what  it  is,  would  be  worse  than 
annexation,  and  would  do  away  with  the  independence 
of  his  country. 

He  had  the  assurance  to  insist  that  the  interests 
of  foreigners  in  his  State  were  sufificiently  looked  after 
by  the  second  Volksraad,  or  Lower  House  of  the  Boer 
Parliament — an  ineffective,  unimportant,  makeshift 
body,  established  solely  to  make  a  hollow  pretence  of 
granting  a  relief  which  it  was  powerless  even  to 
approach. 

The  further  sittings  showed  a  tendency  to  be  given 
up  to  rambling  and  desultory  talks.  President  Kruger 
could  not  be  held  to  the  statesmanlike  point  of  the  High 
Commissioner,  which  was  the  reconstruction  of  the 
franchise  laws,  so  as  to  give  a  measure  of  represen- 
tation to  foreigners  by  granting  a  vote  upon  a  five 
years'  residence. 

He  talked  of  widely  different  things — settlement  of 


THE  DUTCH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA         33 

the  Jameson  Raid  indemnity,  incorporation  of  Swazi- 
land, and  arbitration.  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  on  the  other 
hand,  hoped  to  crystallise  his  efforts  into  an  attempt 
to  get  a  franchise  law  which  would  put  the  Uitlanders 
in  a  direct  way  of  settling  all  other  grievances  for 
themselves. 

Finally,  on  the  fifth  day.  President  Kruger  produced 
a  Reform  Bill  which  had  but  a  faint  resemblance  to 
anything  the  High  Commissioner  had  proposed.  In 
this  Bill  it  was  provided  that  new-comers  must  register 
at  once,  give  half  a  year's  notice  of  intent  to  apply  for 
naturalisation,  which  could  be  obtained  in  two  years 
thereafter,  to  be  followed  in  five  years  by  the  right  of 
suffrage. 

This  was  unacceptable  to  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  and 
nothing  more  favourable  or  final  resulted  from  the 
conference.  Autumn  followed,  the  British  began  to 
move  their  troops  nearer  to  the  frontiers  of  the  Free 
State  and  the  Transvaal,  and  the  Boers  demanded  their 
return  to  England.  In  October  they  declared  it  to  be 
their  ultimatum  that  unless  the  troops  were  recalled 
they  would  resort  to  war,  and  thus  they,  who  had  been 
for  years  preparing  for  it  by  equipping  themselves  with 
modern  weapons  and  the  building  of  forts,  began  the 
fighting.  It  had  been  England's  plan  not  to  move  a 
great  force  into  Africa  until  it  was  needed,  and  to  act 
upon  the  defensive  until  the  large  body  necessary  for 
a  speedy  solution  of  the  contest  should  arrive.     This 


34  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

programme  she  maintained  with  excessive  losses, 
especially  of  her  officers,  at  Glencoe  and  Elandslaagte 
in  mid-October,  when  the  Boers  forced  the  fighting  on 
the  Natal  frontier. 


PART  IV 

THE  BOER   ULTIMATUM  AND   ARMAMENT 

War  became  officially  inevitable  on  the  9th  of 
October,  1899.  Unofficially,  it  had  been  inevitable 
for  nearly  twenty  years.  During  the  whole  of  that 
period  the  Transvaal  and  the  Free  State  Governments 
had  been  arming  themselves,  upon  a  scale  entirely 
inconsistent  with  any  mere  purpose  of  maintaining 
their  position  among  South  African  States.  They 
were  in  no  danger  of  aggression  from  their  white 
neighbours,  and  they  were  already  sufficiently  armed 
to  safeguard  them  against  native  risings. 

The  warlike  preparations  assumed,  after  the  Jameson 
Raid,  proportions  which  told  all  too  plainly  the  end  in 
view.  An  enormous  number  of  field  guns  of  the  latest 
Krupp  and  Creusot  patterns,  guns  of  position,  such  as 
the  famous  "  Long  Tom,"  Mauser  rifles  by  the  hundred 
thousand,  and  cartridges  by  tens  of  millions,  were 
poured  into  Pretoria  and  Bloemfontein,  mainly  through 
the  ordinary  trade  avenues  of  Cape  Colony  and  Natal. 

The  British  Government  took  no  notice  of  all  this, 

1  This  section  and  Chapter  VII,  have  been  prepared  in  London,  under 
the  author's  direction,  as  his  absence  at  the  seat  of  war  made  it  impos- 
sible for  him  to  consult  the  records,  and  gather  the  material  himself. 

35 


36  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

though  foreign  residents  in  Johannesburg  knew 
perfectly  well  what  was  going  on,  and  to  them,  at 
least,  it  was  no  secret  that,  when  the  time  came,  the 
Dutch  Republics  would  strike  a  blow  for  independence. 

Still  the  British  Government  took  no  notice.  Com- 
putations were  made  by  the  landrosts  and  field  cornets 
as  to  the  number  of  available  fighting  men,  and  it  was 
openly  stated  that  at  least  60,000  burghers,  practically 
all  mounted,  could  be  put  into  the  field.  Why?  The 
decisive  moment  arrived,  as  has  been  stated,  on  the  9th 
of  October,  when,  after  months  of  shilly-shallying,  the 
Boer  Government  presented  to  the  British  agent  at 
Pretoria  a  document,  which  was  described  by  Lord 
Salisbury  as  "  an  audacious  defiance." 

Although  not  in  form  an  ultimatum  as  usually  un- 
derstood in  diplomacy,  it  was  so  in  effect.  It  threw 
off  every  vestige  of  allegiance  to  the  British  crown  ;  it 
repudiated  any  right  on  the  part  of  her  Majesty's 
Government  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  the  Transvaal ; 
it  complained  of  the  massing  of  troops  on  the  borders 
of  the  republic  ;  and  it  made  the  cool  demand  that  the 
troops  on  the  borders  should  be  instantly  withdrawn ; 
that  all  our  reinforcements  which  had  arrived  since 
January  1st,  1899,  should  be  removed  from  South 
Africa  within  a  reasonable  time  ;  and  that  her  Majesty's 
troops  then  on  the  high  seas  should  not  be  landed  in 
any  part  of  South  Africa. 

"  Failing   a   satisfactory  answer  to   these  demands 


ULTIMATUM  AND  ARMAMENT  37 

before  5  p.  m.,''  the  message  continued,  "  the  Trans- 
vaal Government  will,  with  great  regret,  be  compelled 
to  regard  the  action  of  her  Majesty's  Government  as 
a  formal  declaration  of  war,  for  the  consequence  of 
which  it  will  not  hold  itself  responsible.  Any  further 
movement  of  troops  in  the  nearer  direction  of  the 
Transvaal  borders  will  also  be  regarded  as  a  formal 
declaration  of  Vv^ar." 

The  British  reply  was  brief  and  to  the  point.  It 
merely  announced  that  her  Majesty's  Government 
had  no  further  communication  to  make  to  Mr.  Kruger 
at  that  moment.  There  was  then  in  Natal  a  total 
British  force  of  about  fourteen  thousand  men  ;  in 
Cape  Colony  there  was  only  the  ordinary  garrison. 
Practically  the  whole  of  the  British  frontiers  were  un- 
defended, and  what  this  meant  was  perceived  clearly 
enough,  although  too  late,  when  it  was  announced 
that  the  Orange  Free  State  intended  to  throw  in  its 
lot  with  the  Transvaal. 

Nothing  was  at  that  time  accurately  known  as  to 
the  armaments  of  the  Boers.  All  that  the  British 
Government  seemed  aware  of  was  that  the  Boers  had 
laid  in  an  enormous  store  of  artillery,  and  small  arms, 
and  ammunition.  Nor  was  anything  very  clearly  un- 
derstood as  to  the  disposition  of  the  Boer  forces.  Mr. 
Kruger's  chief  complaint  against  Great  Britain  was 
that  it  had  enormously  increased  its  troops  on  the 
borders  of  Cape  Colony  and  the  two  Republics. 


38  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

In  point  of  fact,  as  we  knew  to  our  cost  later,  he 
himself,  and  his  brother  President  of  the  Orange  Free 
State,  had  made  far  more  extensive  and  aggressive 
preparations  for  war  on  their  sides  of  the  frontier. 
Large  camps  had  been  formed  at  Volksrust  and  Sand- 
spruit  in  Transvaal  territory ;  the  Free  Staters  had 
gathered  strong  forces  at  Harrismith  ;  and  all  was  in 
readiness  to  occupy  Laing's  Nek,  and  the  other  passes 
through  the  Drakensberg  mountains. 

On  the  British  side  there  was  only  the  Natal  field 
force  of  fourteen  thousand  men,  while,  on  the  other 
frontiers  at  Kimberley  and  Mafeking,  there  were  only 
three  thousand  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  respec- 
tively. Even  then  the  British  Government  do  not 
appear  to  have  realized  the  seriousness  of  the  task 
before  it.  It  was  not  until  the  war  had  made  some 
progress,  and  the  surprisingly  large  strength  of  the 
republican  forces  became  developed,  that  the  Govern- 
ment at  home  made  up  its  mind  to  anything  like 
effective  action. 

When,  however,  it  did  act,  it  made  a  show  of  con- 
siderable vigour.  It  decided  to  despatch  to  South 
Africa,  under  General  Sir  Redvers  Buller,  a  complete 
army  corps  of  fifty  thousand  men.  This  corps  was 
mobilised  with  great  rapidity,  and  in  a  very  few  days 
the  troops  were  on  the  transports  and  afloat.  Divis- 
ional commands  were  given  to  Lord  Methuen,  Sir  Wil- 
liam Gatacre,  and  Sir  Francis  Clery. 


ULTIMATUM  AND  ARMAMENT  39 

As  time  went  on,  and  the  fortunes  of  war  went 
steadily  against  the  British,  measures  were  taken  on 
a  still  vaster  scale,  and  so  important  were  these  that 
they  ultimately  rose  to  the  dimensions  of  a  supreme 
Imperial  effort,  to  avert  a  danger  threatening  the  very 
existence  of  the  Empire. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  trace  the  course  of  these 
stupendous  operations.  After  the  reverse  of  Nichol- 
son's Nek  on  the  night  of  October  30-31,  orders  were 
given  on  a  wholesale  scale  for  the  despatch  of  troops  to 
the  seat  of  war.  Transports  were  engaged,  a  second 
army  corps  was  mobilised,  and  in  a  very  short  time  the 
great  liners  were  conveying  reinforcements  with  all 
speed  southward. 

There  came,  in  fact,  a  continuous  stream  of  steam- 
ers from  the  English  ports  right  up  to  the  middle  of 
November,  when  the  general  military  situation  had 
become  so  critical  that  a  fifth  division  for  South  Africa 
was  constituted.  The  permanent  service  sections  B 
and  C  of  the  Army  Reserves  were  called  up  for  per- 
manent service  ;  and  other  arrangements  were  made 
for  increasing  the  forces  in  the  field  on  a  substantial 
scale. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  campaign 
now  began  to  assert  itself.  From  all  parts  of  the  Em- 
pire came  offers  of  men  and  munitions.  These,  which 
had  at  first  been  but  coldly  received  by  the  War  OfiFice, 
were    now    gladly  accepted.     Australia    and    Canada 


40  HISTORICAL  FOREWORD 

sent  considerable  contingents,  while  the  lesser  Colonies 
loyally  contributed  their  share. 

So  matters  went  on  till  the  middle  of  December, 
when  in  one  week  three  great  disasters  overtook  the 
British  arms.  There  was  now  seen  such  an  outburst 
of  martial  and  patriotic  feeling  as  had  never  been 
recorded  in  the  history  of  the  British  Empire.  It  is 
hardly  too  much  to  say  that  every  man  of  fighting 
age  was  only  too  anxious  to  go  to  the  front. 

Taking  advantage  at  last  of  the  eagerness  of  the 
people  to  assert  the  supremacy  of  our  arms,  and  defend 
the  integrity  of  the  Empire,  Government  made  a  num- 
ber of  calls  upon  the  Volunteers  and  Yeomanry.  Of 
the  regulars  a  sixth  division  had  already  been  sent 
out,  and  a  seventh  division,  with  further  reinforcements 
of  artillery,  including  a  Howitzer  Brigade,  was  ordered 
to  proceed  to  South  Africa  without  delay.  Volun- 
teers were  called  for  from  the  Militia,  and  it  was 
decided  to  organise' a  special  force  from  the  Yeomanry, 
to  consist  of  mounted  infantry,  certain  to  employ  on 
the  field  of  action  all  the  qualities  which  distinguish 
the  rural  classes  in  England. 

One  of  the  most  striking  incidents  of  this  exciting 
period  was  the  way  in  which  the  City  of  London  came 
to  the  front.  Within  a  very  few  days  a  special  corps 
called  the  City  of  London  Imperial  Volunteers  was 
raised,  the  cost  of  their  equipment  being  mainly  borne 
by  public  subscriptions  ;  and  again  from  AustraHa  and 


ULTIMATUM  AND  ARMAMENT  41 

Canada  eager  contingents  were  despatched,  making 
the  total  number  of  men  sent  to  the  seat  of  war  from 
England,  India,  and  the  Colonies,  no  less  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men. 

No  such  expedition  had  ever  been  undertaken  by 
England,  or,  for  the  matter  of  that,  by  any  other 
country.  All  this  vast  army,  with  its  munitions, 
stores,  medical  service,  and  hospitals,  had  to  be  trans- 
ported a  distance  of  seven  thousand  miles,  and,  al- 
though there  were  some  blunders,  and  not  a  few 
scandals,  this  stupendous  work  was  carried  through 
with  general  smoothness  and  celerity. 

Finally,  the  supreme  command  was  accepted  by 
Lord  Roberts,  who  only  a  few  hours  before  had  re- 
ceived the  news  of  the  heroic  death  at  Colenso  of 
Lieut,  the  Hon.  Frederick  Roberts,  his  only  son. 


TOWARDS  PRETORIA 


TOWARDS   PRETORIA 


CHAPTER  I 

CAPETOWN   TRANSFIGURED 

Capetown  wakes  up  every  morning  and  rubs  its 
eyes,  and  stares  at  itself  like  a  man  who  sees  himself 
after  his  hair  has  turned  white  overnight.  It  cannot 
recognise  its  own  photographs  in  these  closing  months 
of  1899. 

It  used  to  be  a  humdrum  little  seaport  capital, 
which  only  woke  up  when  a  steamer  came  in  from 
London,  but  now  it  is  so  full  of  refugees  that  the 
pavements  of  its  main  thoroughfare  are  more  crowded 
than  those  of  Regent  Street  at  four  o'clock  on  a  sum- 
mer afternoon. 

There  are  said  to  be  sixty  thousand  refugees  here 
from  Johannesburg  and  Kimberley,  and  they  have 
jumped  the  city  up  into  the  semblance  of  a  western 
metropolis. 

One  can  see  that  it  must  have  been  an  interesting 
place  before  the  war.  It  clings  to  the  base  of  a  tow- 
ering, naked  rock,  as  the  seaweed  clutches  the  small 
boulders   on    the   beach.     Leave   out   the   rock,    and 

43 


44  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

Capetown  bears  much  resemblance  to  Galveston, 
Texas,  or  is  a  little  like  the  European  quarter  of  Bom- 
bay. 

But  you  cannot  leave  out  the  rock,  which  hangs  in 
the  sky  at  the  end  of  every  inland  view.  It  is  a  moun- 
tain, with  its  top  planed  off  like  a  table,  and  white 
clouds  rolling  over  it  as  if  the  cloth  was  being  laid 
ever  so  many  times  a  day  for  meals  for  the  gods  of 
the  Hottentots,  who  must  have  nothing  else  to  do 
than  to  eat,  now  that  their  worshippers  have  suc- 
cumbed to  the  lead  and  the  liquids  of  the  white. 

Before  the  war  Capetown  held  a  wonderful  mixture 
of  human  contrasts — a  few  thousands  of  Mahommedan 
Malays  in  fezes,  a  few  more  thousands  of  English,  and 
a  still  larger  number  of  "  Cape  people,"  who  look  like 
negroes,  but  are  a  mixture  of  Dutch,  Hottentots,  and 
Bushmen.  Dutch  is  generally  heard  in  the  capital, 
and  the  colony,  because  there  are  five  Dutchmen  to 
every  four  Englishmen  here,  and  the  Malays  and 
negroes  and  their  mixtures  all  think  in  Dutch. 

It  is  the  lingo  of  the  cabbies,  newsboys,  labourers, 
servants,  street  urchins,  and  of  some  minor  officials. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  not  really  Dutch  which  these 
speak,  but  a  hodge-podge  of  Dutch,  Kafifir,  Bush,  and 
Hottentot  words. 

Capetown's  vehicles  are  like  no  others.  Trains  of 
waggons  are  pulled  about  by  traction  engines  ;  smaller 
loads    go   on    flat    platforms    upon    low   wheels :  the 


CAPETOWN  TRANSFIGURED  45 

country  folk  ride  in  two-wheeled,  two-horse  hooded 
carriages  called  Cape  carts,  and  the  city  folk  use  elec- 
tric trams  and  Cape  hansoms.  The  tramcars  fill  the 
air  with  the  clangour  of  gongs,  and  the  grinding  of 
wheels  against  curves.  But  the  hansoms  are  fit  to  win 
a  leather  medal  for  drollness.  They  are  made  by 
somebody  who  once  saw  a  real  hansom,  and  then 
nearly  forgot  how  it  looked.  They  are  bulky  and  low, 
and  have  curious  tasselled  curtains  in  the  windows. 
They  are  closed  by  flaps  like  old-fashioned  cellar-doors, 
and  they  are  all  named,  as  if  they  were  yachts. 

The  names  are  painted  on  the  curved  sides  of  the 
roofs.  ''  Lily  of  Killarney,"  "  Alert,"  ''  Despatch," 
''  Belle  of  the  Cape,"  "  Cecil  Rhodes,"  *'  Duke  of  Con- 
naught  " — these  are  some  of  the  names  you  read  on 
them,  and  I  am  told  that,  presently,  some  cabbies  will 
have  the  enterprise  to  rechristen  their  cabs  ^'  Glencoe  " 
and  "  Mafeking."  More  disreputable  cabmen  never 
were  seen.  They  do  not  mind  being  in  their  shirt- 
sleeves, or  wearing  umbrella-shaped  hats,  or  dressing 
almost  in  rags  for  that  matter. 

Capetown  is  somewhat  free  and  easy,  like  a  great 
many  other  English  colonial  towns.  I  found  two 
negro  chambermaids  asleep  on  the  chairs  in  my  bed- 
room at  the  Grand  Hotel  this  afternoon.  I  apologised 
for  disturbing  them,  but  they  begged  me  not  to  speak 
of  it,  as  they  were  thoroughly  rested. 

The  shops  outrank  those  you  will  find  in  many  pro- 


46  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

vincial  cities  of  Great  Britain.  They  show  enormous 
stocks  of  goods  from  England,  Germany,  and  America. 
As  far  as  I  can  discover,  the  only  home  manufactures 
are  matches,  ice,  and  Cape  tobacco.  The  commonest 
walking-sticks  come  from  Germany,  and  even  the 
neckties  and  collars  are  marked  ''  made  in  London 
for ,  Capetown." 

There  are  fortunes  to  be  gathered  here  by  the  manu- 
facture of  necessaries,  for  labour  is  abundant,  cheap,  and 
tractable,  and  there  is  a  half  continent  to  supply — an 
English  half  continent,  it  will  be,  in  a  few  weeks  or 
months. 

But  you  find  the  slenderest  variety  of  food,  because 
their  agriculture  is  primitive,  and  the  raising  of  delica- 
cies has  not  been  thought  of.  The  cooks  are  either 
men  who  have  failed  at  everything  else,  or  women  who 
turn  a  five-course  dinner  out  of  a  frying-pan.  Stop- 
ping at  a  first-class  hotel  reminds  me  of  life  on  the 
Channel  boats  that  run  to  St.  Malo,  but  I  think  dif- 
ferently when  I  pay  my  bill,  for  the  charges  are  im- 
pressive. They  expect  a  shilling  for  the  risk  of  ac- 
cepting a  Bank  of  England  £$  note. 

This  is  war  time,  and  Capetown  is  the  headquarters 
of  the  British.  It  keeps  step  to  the  bugle  and  the 
drum,  and  nobody  runs  out  of  doors  any  longer  to  see 
soldiers  on  the  march.  The  Volunteers  do  most  of  the 
marching,  as  they  are  in  camps  near  by  in  the  fields. 

When  the  Regulars  and  the  Marines  go  to  the  front, 


CAPETOWN  TRANSFIGURED  47 

they  are  rushed  from  the  ships  to  the  cars  so  quickly 
that  paragraphs  about  them  in  the  next  day's  papers 
attract  more  attention  than  the  actual  movements  of 
the  men. 

During  several  nights  in  October  the  railway  station 
in  this  city  was  the  most  exciting  spot  on  earth.  The 
earlier  trains  had  been  fired  on  by  the  Boers,  who  had 
swarmed  further  and  further  south,  and  every  night 
the  train's  journey  was  shortened,  until  at  last  it  ran 
ran  no  further  north  than  De  Aar,  well  within  the 
colony. 

To  limit  the  crowds  that  came  to  see  the  troops  off, 
threepence  was  charged  for  admission  to  the  platform, 
and  even  then  there  was  a  crush  worth  going  far  to 
avoid.  The  carriages  were  filled  with  soldiers  in  khaki, 
officers  in  civilian  attire,  and  hundreds  of  Cape  Boys 
and  Kaffirs,  who  were  hired  as  transport  helpers. 

Other  officers,  idle  citizens,  wondering  Mahometans, 
and  excited  negresses  formed  the  crowd  that  saw  them 
depart.  The  Tommies  kept  quiet  and  smoked,  while 
the  Cape  negroes  sang  and  shouted,  and  the  semi- 
savage  Kaffirs  chanted  war  songs  and  danced,  mainly 
with  their  hips  and  stomachs,  as  performers  do  in  the 
streets  of  Cairo  exhibitions. 

I  stopped  and  talked  to  a  dozen  of  these  Kaffirs. 
"  Oh,  I've  heard  de  Queen,"  said  one.  **  She  spoke  to 
me,  and  I  heard  what  she  said.  She  said,  '  Boy,  you 
better  go  to  war  ! '  " 


48  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

At  this  the  whole  dozen  yelled  a  war-cry,  and  the 
song  and  dance  were  renewed. 

The  supreme  moment  comes  when  the  train  starts. 
Then  the  Tommies  leap  to  their  feet,  and  thrust  their 
hands  out  of  the  windows  for  a  good-bye  shake. 

"  Don't  be  too  proud,  sir,"  one  of  them  called  to  me. 

But  nobody  is  too  proud  to  shake  good  luck  and  a 
God-speed  to  the  soldier  rushing  to  battle. 

Though  I  can  hardly  believe  it  myself,  I  saw  smart 
officers  of  the  finest  English  regiments  shaking  hands 
not  only  with  the  privates,  but  with  the  Kaffirs,  as  the 
train  swung  by,  and  the  air  was  torn  with  shouts,  and 
songs,  and  cheers. 

Whenever  more  troops  come  in  these  scenes  will  be 
repeated,  until  the  war  ends.  Where  the  troops  are 
going  each  night  few  persons  know,  for  though  this  is 
a  British  colony,  every  other  man  carries  Boer  blood, 
and  is  a  possible  sympathiser  with  the  enemy. 

Therefore  there  is  a  strong  censorship  on  gossip,  as 
there  is  upon  Press  news.  Whether  the  brave  boys 
are  going  to  Natal,  or  straight  north  to  De  Aar  no 
one  can  guess,  for  the  first  part  of  each  journey  is  the 
same. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SIR  ALFRED    MILNER'S   TRIALS. 

The  view  of  Sir  Alfred  Milner  as  Governor  of  the 
British,  and  not  of  the  Dutch,  in  this  colony,  and  as  a 
man  whose  house  has  been  overrun  with  Jingoes,  and 
plotters  against  the  peace  of  the  colony,  is  not  at  all 
the  view  of  him  which  has  been  adopted  in  Capetown. 

I  have  heard  his  position  discussed  by  some  of  the 
most  prominent  men  in  private  and  public  life,  who 
have  lived  there  either  since  birth  or  since  boyhood, 
and  who  are  quite  competent  to  pass  judgment  upon 
his  relation  to  the  colony. 

If  Dutch  citizens  of  the  Cape  are  displeased  with 
the  Governor,  it  is  only  because  he  is  an  Englishman, 
and  has  England  at  his  back.  That  is  more  than  suf- 
ficient to  anger  a  great  percentage  of  them.  But  they 
are  no  more  displeased  with  him  now  than  the  Eng- 
lish were  six  months  after  he  came. 

The  war  was  not  brought  about  by  him,  but  has 

been  preparing  for  at  least  twenty  years.    During  that 

period  the  loyal   English  here  and   in   Natal  have  at 

times  felt  that   they  could  not  endure  their  trials,  at 

4  49 


50  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

times  that  the  home  Government  was  never  going  to 
rescue  them  or  itself  from  the  rapidly-growing  tenden- 
cies of  a  most  dangerous  situation. 

It  has  been  all  along  a  condition  in  which  part  of 
the  population  was  loyal,  and  the  other  part  was 
planning  an  Afrikander  empire  wherein  the  British, 
already  despised,  were  to  have  no  voice  or  even  rest- 
ing-place. When  Sir  Alfred  Milner  first  came  to  take 
this  most  thankless  post,  it  was  with  the  leading  men 
of  the  Afrikander  party  that  he  spent  so  much  of  his 
time  as  to  cause  the  English  to  feel  that  he  was  being 
hoodwinked,  and  that  once  again  there  had  come  to 
them  a  High  Commissioner  who  would  tide  over  a 
long  term  of  ofifice  without  mending  the  condition  q( 
affairs. 

They  knew  that  in  such  a  case  the  irreconcilable 
Dutch  of  the  entire  half  continent  would  still  further 
arm.  and  equip  themselves  for  rebellion,  while  the 
loyal  British  would  remain  helpless  under  more  and 
more  insufTerable  insult  and  abuse,  unarmed  in  the 
Dutch  States,  and  impotent  in  their  own  largest 
colony. 

President  Kruger  fancied  that  Sir  Alfred  was  neither 
Governor  of  the  Dutch  nor  of  the  English,  but  was  a 
plaything  of  the  cunning  Government  at  Pretoria. 

A  now  famous  speech  of  the  Dutch  President  puts 
his  views  as  pithily  as  words  can  express  them,  Kru- 
ger has  lost  the  thumb  of  his  left  hand,  and  telling  this 


SIR  ALFRED  MILKER'S  TRIALS         51 

story  he  used  the  four  remaining  fingers  of  that  hand 
to  emphasise  his  words  : — 

"  First,"  said  he,  holding  his  right  hand  little  finger 
with  his  left  hand,  "  there  was  Bartle  Frere — psst !  I 
got  the  best  of  him  "  ;  with  that  he  doubled  that  finger 
down.  ''  Then,"  said  he,  taking  hold  of  the  next 
finger,  '*  there  was  Rosmead.  Psst !  I  got  the  best  of 
him,"  and  he  turned  that  finger  down.  "  Next  came 
Loch.  Psst  !  I  got  the  best  of  him.  And  then  came 
Rosmead  again.  Psst !  he  was  nothing,  no  more 
than  before.  And  now,"  he  said,  pretending  to  be 
going  to  turn  down  his  missing  thumb  as  he  had  bent 
his  fingers,  "  here  is  Milner.  Ach,  Gott !  dar  is  nicht !  " 
(there  is  nothing !) 

Thus  we  see  that  at  the  outset,  when  the  English 
feared  that  the  Dutch  were  bewitching  the  Governor 
with  their  pretensions  of  loyalty  and  promises  of  re- 
form, the  Dutch  were  quite  as  well  satisfied  that,  if  he 
was  not  their  Governor,  he  was  at  least  not  to  be  feared 
by  them. 

About  this  time,  an  American,  a  conspicuous  mem- 
ber of  this  community,  returned  from  a  visit  to  the 
country,  where  he  met  the  Governor,  and  hearing  a 
group  of  Englishmen  complaining  of  this  new  disap- 
pointment, broke  out  with  this  comment  : — 

''  He's  pumping  the  other  side  dry,  I  tell  you.  I 
met  him  and  spent  an  afternoon  with  him,  and  when 
we  parted  I  got  to  thinking  over  what  had  been   said 


52  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

on  both  sides,  and  I  discovered  that  I  had  told  him 
everything  I  knew,  and  he  had  told  me  nothing.  He 
pumped  me  dry,  and  I  tell  you  all  now  that  when  you 
see  him  with  Hofmeyr,  and  Schreiner,  and  all  the  rest 
of  those  fellows,  he  is  simply  doing  to  them  what  he 
did  to  me,  and  what  he  will  do  to  you  when  your  turn 
comes.     He  is  pumping  both  sides  dry." 

That  view  of  the  new  Governor,  so  fresh  at  the  time, 
has  now  come  to  be  regarded  as  prophetic,  for  when 
Sir  Alfred  had  heard  everything  that  could  be  told 
him  by  the  Dutch  leaders,  he  began  the  same  process 
with  the  English.  He  did  not  drop  the  Dutch,  or 
quarrel  with  them,  nor  has  he  done  so  yet.  To  judge 
him  by  his  public  conduct,  he  seems  to  have  taken 
mental  notes  of  all  that  he  heard  from  either  side,  and 
to  have  compared,  and  examined,  and  tried  to  balance, 
the  two  views  of  the  situation. 

At  last  he  came  to  a  decision,  slowly,  calmly,  and 
with  judicial  deliberation. 

What  he  learned,  and  why  he  believed  the  situation 
in  the  Transvaal  required  immediate  relief,  the  people 
of  England  do  not  know,  and  can  hardly  imagine,  if 
what  is  told  me  by  the  most  responsible  and  best 
informed  Englishmen  in  this  colony  is  true. 

Again,  if  what  they  say  is  to  any  extent  true,  for 
all  tell  of  precisely  the  same  state  of  affairs,  then  Sir 
Alfred  Milner  is  at  once  worthy  of  the  extremest  sym- 
pathy and  the  utmost  admiration.    He  has  been  placed 


SIR  ALFRED  MILNER'S  TRIALS         53 

in  a  position  in  which  he  has  been  debarred  from 
making  public  in  his  own  country  those  facts  which 
weighed  most  heavily  in  the  formation  of  his  opinion. 

The  publication  of  such  facts  could  have  done  noth- 
ing but  increase  the  evils  of  the  situation  here,  and 
perhaps  put  a  match  to  explosives  which  thus  far, 
thanks  to  his  diplomacy,  were  still  at  rest.  As  it  is 
he  is  no  longer  criticised  by  any  Englishmen,  and  if 
the  Afrikander  element  is  dissatisfied,  it  is  a  condition 
not  to  their  credit  as  British  subjects.  As  Governor 
he  "  pumped  everybody  dry,"  and  now  as  High  Com- 
missioner he  is  acting  devotedly  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  Crown. 

I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  pay  my  respects  to 
Sir  Alfred  Milner  at  Government  House  during  a  visit 
which  was  necessarily  brief,  because  he  is  working 
sixteen  hours  a  day.  He  shows  the  consequence  of 
his  toil  in  a  face  and  frame  so  thinned  that  his  friends 
in  London  would  scarcely  know  him.  Care,  too,  has 
written  its  lines  deeply  on  his  countenance.  He  makes 
such  an  impression  upon  a  visitor,  that  not  even  a 
Little  Englander  who  saw  him  here  could  carry  criti- 
cism very  far  in  writing  of  him  afterwards. 

His  modesty  is  his  most  remarkable  characteristic, 
and  next  to  that,  I  think,  one  notices  his  earnestness, 
and  the  degree  to  which  his  mind  is  concentrated  upon 
the  situation  around  him.  In  the  play  of  his  features 
and  voice  there  is  great  evidence  of   kindliness   and 


54  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

sympathy.  These,  with  a  modicum  of  humour  thrown 
in,  are  the  chief  ingredients  in  what  is  called  tact,  so 
that  you  cannot  see  him,  talk  to  him,  or  be  with  him 
without  feeling  that  since  diplomacy  has  failed  to  re- 
lieve the  tension  here,  and  war  has  followed,  it  cannot 
have  been  the  fault  of  so  gentle,  so  self-possessed,  so 
calm  a  man. 

I  have  also  seen  Sir  Forestier  Walker  at  his  desk  in 
a  bare  room  of  the  old  Dutch  "  castle  "  or  fort,  and 
have  enjoyed  that  visit,  for  he  is  a  man  of  the  frankest 
and  most  affable  nature. 

Both  the  civil  and  the  military  leaders  are  of  one 
type — tall,  slender,  strong,  and  wiry  men,  whose  youth 
resists  their  years,  and  who  take  so  much  of  the  bur- 
den of  the  moment  on  their  own  shoulders,  that  all 
who  are  under  them  work  cheerfully  and  with  a  will. 


CHAPTER  III 

BRAVE  OFFICERS  AND  RICH  REFUGEES 

On  every  ship  that  arrives  in  Capetown  from  the 
north  are  many  British  officers.  Some  bring  a  dozen 
or  twenty ;  others  as  many  as  fifty.  They  are  the 
pick  and  flower  of  Englishmen.  Most  of  them  are 
young  men,  in  the  late  twenties  and  early  thirties, 
bearing  distinguished  names,  exhibiting  the  long,  re- 
fined faces  of  the  British  aristocracy,  carrying  them- 
selves at  once  like  dandies  and  like  athletes. 

The  one  strange  thing  about  them  is  that  nobody  is 
sending  them  here,  and  they  do  not  know  to  what 
part  of  the  seat  of  war  they  are  bound,  or  what  they 
are  going  to  do.  They  only  know  that  they  could  not 
keep  away.  They  are  here  to  see  what  they  call  "  the 
fun."  It  is  a  war  against  bushwhackers,  guerillas,  and 
sharpshooters,  in  which  a  far  greater  proportion  of 
officers  than  men  are  certain  to  be  killed,  but  that  does 
not  matter  to  them.  The  first  accounts  of  skirmishes 
they  read  after  they  have  landed  tell  of  the  special 
dangers  which  they  have  to  face.  Apparently  the 
manner  in  which  the  enemy  reveals  its  presence  among 

55 


56  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

the  hills  out  Natal  way  is  by  the  dropping  of  an  officer 
from  his  saddle,  or  in  his  tracks,  as  he  pushes  ahead 
of  his  men.  What  of  that  ?  It  is  part  of  ''  the  fun," 
they  say. 

These  fine  young  fellows  have  come  during  their 
leave  of  absence,  which  has  been  well  earned  by  active 
service  in  disagreeable  climates,  in  lonely  garrison 
posts,  in  the  Sudan,  or  on  the  Indian  frontier.  One 
who  came  out  with  me  has  given  up  a  billet  for  which 
he  had  long  been  striving,  and  which  was  offered  to 
him  just  as  he  had  determined  to  come  here  and  do 
a  little  fighting  for  variety.  Another  of  my  com- 
panions on  the  voyage  was  starting  fully  equipped 
to  make  a  tour  of  the  world,  but  this  excitement 
proved  more  attractive.  A  third  officer  on  the 
same  ship  arrived  in  England  to  see  his  people, 
from  whom  he  had  long  been  separated  ;  he  got,  how- 
ever, no  further  than  London,  and  only  stayed  four 
days  when  he  caught  the  spirit  of  his  comrades  and 
bolted  for  South  Africa.  On  another  ship  was  a  young 
man  with  an  income  of  ^40,000  a  year  who  was  just 
about  to  be  married,  but  instead  of  taking  his  bride  to 
St.  George's  he  asked  her  down  to  Waterloo  to  see 
him  off  for  Durban. 

I  watched  these  men  on  shipboard  during  seventeen 
days.  They  were  up  at  six  o'clock  every  morning, 
running  so  many  dozen  times  round  the  deck  in 
slippers  and  pyjamas  in  order  to   keep  themselves  in 


BRAVE  OFFICERS  AND  RICH  REFUGEES  57 

good  condition,  then  plunging  into  a  cold  bath,  and 
coming  back  to  the  deck  again  in  flannels,  as  fresh  and 
bloonfiing  as  new-cut  flowers.  All  day  they  read  about 
South  Africa  in  the  little  libraries  they  had  brought 
along  with  them,  and  which  they  exchanged  for  similar 
books  that  other  men  had  brought  on  board.  They 
were,  emphatically,  the  best  of  Englishmen — wide- 
awake, well-informed,  proud,  polished,  polite,  con- 
siderate, and  abounding  with  animal  health  and  high 
spirits. 

The  more  I  saw  of  them  the  more  I  resented  all 
that  we  hear  about  various  fanatical  people  on  earth 
who  are  celebrated  for  not  being  afraid  to  die — the 
Sudan  dervishes,  the  stolid  Turks,  the  pilfering  Al- 
banians, and  now,  last  of  all,  these  wooden-headed 
Boers.  Of  some  of  these  we  are  told  that  they  wel- 
come death,  of  others  that  they  believe  themselves  in 
God's  special  care. 

And  what  of  these  English  ?  Are  they  afraid  to 
die  ?  Who  would  say  such  a  thing — or  think  it  for  a 
moment — of  these  splendid  fellows  who  have  led  Eng- 
land's ranks  against  every  fanatic  on  earth  except  the 
Turk  ?  They  are  as  ready  to  die  as  any  men,  and  they 
rank  above  their  foes  as  towers  rise  above  the  lowly 
grass,  because  they  risk  their  lives  with  a  full  knowl- 
edge of  what  they  are  doing,  and  because  in  risking 
themselves  they  risk  the  most  enviable  lot  of  which 
any  man  can  boast. 


58  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

The  incomes  and  homes,  the  wives  and  sisters,  the 
companions  and  sports  and  clubs  of  these  men,  the 
comforts  and  the  luxuries  with  which  they  can  sur- 
round themselves  whenever  they  will,  are  ties  which 
must  make  life  dearer  to  them  than  the  bare,  hard  lot 
of  most  of  the  poor  wretches  whom  historians  and 
poets  have  glorified  for  not  fearing  death  ;  but  every 
one  of  those,  I  honestly  believe,  fears  it  more  than 
these  splendid,  dashing  fellows,  who  keep  on  carving 
empires  out  of  the  map  of  the  world  to  swell  the 
British  Empire. 

*'Been  to  Government  House?"  I  asked  one  of 
these  men  yesterday. 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  and  I'm  not  going.  I  am  afraid 
they  might  send  me  somewhere  out  of  the  thick  of 
things.  I  don't  want  them  to  know  I'm  here.  I'm 
going  to  wherever  its  liveliest.  I'll  be  certain  to  find 
somebody  under  whom  I  have  served,  or  with  whom 
I  have  fought,  and  so  I'll  see  the  best  of  it." 

And  that  was  the  man  who  told  me  that  out  of  a 
hundred  men  with  whom  he  studied  for  the  service 
seventy-five  are  dead  already — fifteen  of  illnesses,  and 
sixty  of  bullet  wounds  and  spear  thrusts ! 

It  is  disgusting  to  leave  these  men,  and  turn  into 
any  one  of  the  Capetown  hotels  to  find  yourself  sur- 
rounded by  the  rich  refugees  from  Johannesburg,  and 
to  hear  them  cry  like  children  as  they  tell  you  what 
they  will  lose  if  the  British  do  not  hurry  up  and  take 


BRAVE  OFFICERS  AND  RICH  REFUGEES    59 

the  Transvaal,  before  the  Boers  destroy  Johannes- 
burg. 

In  their  dismay  they  actually  weep  over  their  plates 
at  dinner,  and  half-strangle  themselves  by  sobbing  as 
they  drink  their  whisky  at  bed-time.  The  Mount 
Nelson,  the  Queen's,  and  the  Grand  Hotels  are  all  full 
of  these  merchants  and  millionaires,  faring  on  the  fat 
of  the  land,  idle,  loafing  all  of  every  day,  and  discussing 
what  per  cent,  of  their  losses  the  British  Government 
will  pay  when  they  put  in  their  claims  at  the  end  of 
the  war. 

Some  came  here  as  clerks,  some  as  labourers  in  the 
mines,  and  some  are  merchants  who  brought  ;^io 
worth  of  goods  out  from  Birmingham  a  dozen  years 
ago.  They  tell  you  that  they  have  left  i^  100,000 
worth,  or  ;^ 80,000  worth  of  goods  in  their  shop,  and 
that  altogether  i^2 5, 000,000  is  in  danger  of  destruc- 
tion in  Johannesburg. 

"  Oh,  mine  Got !  "  one  has  just  been  saying  to  me  ; 
"  I  can'd  dell  how  much  I  shall  lose  by  dis  peezness. 
I  shpeak  mit  much  feeling,  my  frent.  Blease  excoose 
me  grying.  Vot  do  you  dink  !  Do  you  dink  I  can 
git  back  dirty-dree  per  cent,  of  vot  I  lose  from  de 
British  Government  ?  Oh,  Got !  den  I  lose  ;^6o,ooo — 
ain'd  it  derrible?" 

They  are  pulling  their  long  faces  all  over  the  place, 
and  shedding  their  tears  wherever  you  meet  them.  It 
is  enough  to  make  a  statue  ill  to  have  to  hear  and  see 


6o  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

them  and  move  among  them.  Why  don't  they  equip 
a  regiment  of  rough-riders  or  make  up  a  battalion  of 
volunteers  among  themselves  ?  Why  don't  they  fight  ? 
The  war  has  jeopardised  their  property,  and  they  have 
a  keener  interest  in  it  than  any  Tommy,  or  any  officer 
now  at  the  front.  How  can  they  see  the  cream  and 
flower  of  English  manhood  rushing  down  here  to  spill 
its  precious  blood  for  them,  and  never  feel  a  blush  of 
shame,  or  a  pang  of  any  emotion  except  grief  over 
personal  losses  which  will  still  leave  many  of  them 
rich  ? 

Really,  Capetown  is  a  wonderful  place.  It  is  worth 
the  journey  to  see  the  streets  blocked  by  able  young 
men,  and  the  hotels  crowded  by  rich  refugees,  while 
each  night's  train  takes  out  the  fearless  gentlemen  who 
are  deliberately  risking  not  only  their  lives  but  more 
of  worldly  advantage  than  can  ever  come  to  these 
skulkers,  who  cling  to  the  shelter  of  England's  guns, 
and  weep  while  they  wait  for  men  to  die,  that  they 
may  rush  up  to  the  British  Treasury  with  their  claims. 

If  the  exhibition  these  refugees  are  making  in  Cape- 
town were  as  important  at  it  is  conspicuous,  one  would 
think  the  Englishmen  in  charge  here  would  drop  the 
contest  where  it  is,  and  go  home  in  disgust.  But  it  is 
only  a  phase  of  a  side  issue,  quite  apart  from  the 
principle  at  stake. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   BOER  AT   HOME 

A  German  correspondent  took  me  aside  in  the  City 
Club  one  day  and  said  :  "  You  see,  the  Boers  have  been 
playing  us  all  for  fools.  They  have  allowed  the  world 
to  believe  that  they  can  only  fight  behind  rocks,  and 
while  the  British  acted  on  this  belief  they  have  come 
right  out  in  the  open  and  given  them  a  huge  surprise, 
bottling  up  Kimberley  and  cutting  off  all  communi- 
cation with  it,  besides  capturing  trains,  destroying 
bridges,  and  all  the  rest." 

Almost  as  he  spoke  out  of  his  dense  ignorance,  an 
American  born  in  Natal,  and  now  a  man  of  wealth  and 
position  in  South  Africa,  drifted  to  our  group  and 
told  us  his  very  different  opinion  of  the  enemy. 

"  The  British  talk  about  keeping  on  the  defensive 

until  their  whole  force  is  in  position  in  December  ;  but, 

mark  my  words,  it  will  all  be  over  before  then.     I  was 

born  among  the  Boers,  I  speak  their  language,  I  have 

hunted  with  them,  seen  them  in  war,   been   intimate 

with  them  in  all  the  States  and  colonies,  and  I  tell  you 

they  will  not  hold   out.     They  are  fanatics,  but  their 

6i 


62  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

fanaticism  goes  only  so  far.  They  have  never  seen 
more  than  a  thousand  British  in  war,  and  these  they 
have  potted  at  from  behind  rocks  while  the  British 
were  wholly  exposed. 

"  They  fancy  this  is  to  be  always  the  rule.  I  can 
cite  you  instances  in  several  wars  with  natives,  where 
the  Boers  absolutely  refused  to  occupy  positions  of 
danger.  They  want  to  kill,  but  do  not  at  all  relish 
being  killed.  They  are  so  closely  related,  and  so 
much  inter-married,  that  the  killing  of  a  Boer  makes 
mourning  in  forty  families.  The  killing  of  forty  Boers 
would  practically  put  the  whole  Transvaal  in  mourn- 
ing. 

''  I  will  predict  within  a  very  little  what  is  going  to 
happen.  To  begin  with,  they  detest  discipline,  and 
always  dispute  with  their  leaders.  Every  man  who 
knows  them  will  tell  you  that  even  when  they  make 
up  a  hunting  party  they  waste  the  best  time  of  the 
day  arguing  over  every  plan  that  is  proposed.  Eng- 
lishmen who  hunt  with  them  have  learned  to  say  to 
them,  *  You  stay  here  and  talk  it  out,  we  are  going  in 
such  a  direction,'  and  then  they  go  off,  and  leave  the 
Boers  to  follow  them.  In  war  they  will  want  to  argue 
every  plan  that  is  proposed,  and  they  will  rapidly 
grow  more  and  more  discontented. 

"Their  habit  is  for  each  Boer  to  look  out  for  him- 
self. All  are  farmers,  and  every  man  in  the  field  has 
left  his  affairs  with   no  one   in  charge.     They  are  not 


THE  BOER  AT  HOME  63 

professional  soldiers  like  the  British,  they  are  not  will- 
ing to  die  like  the  British,  they  are  not  paid  like  the 
British.  By  and  by  they  will  begin  to  go  home. 
They  will  say  that  they  must  look  after  their  farms, 
and  when  they  decide  to  do  so,  nothing  can  stop  them. 

"  I  passed  through  the  Transvaal  a  few  days  ago, 
and  I  had  two  remarkable  conversations  which  go  to 
show  how  peculiar  the  Boers  are.  The  first  was  with  a 
man  who  had  been  sent  to  a  Boer  house  to  collect 
some  taxes  that  were  long  overdue.  He  rode  up  to 
the  house,  called  out  the  head  of  the  family,  and  stated 
his  errand.  The  Boer  turned  on  his  heel  and  went  in- 
doors at  once.  Presently  he  came  out  again  with  his 
loaded  gun. 

''  '  See  here,'  said  he,  '  I  own  this  house  and  all  the 
land  as  far  as  you  can  see  around  you.  It  is  mine.  I 
am  king  here.  You  go  back  and  tell  Paul  Krugerthat 
if  he  sends  another  man  here  for  that  five  pounds  of 
taxes  I  will  kill  the  man.  As  for  you,  if  you  say  any 
more  about  it  I  will  shoot  you.' 

"  My  second  talk  was  with  a  field  cornet,  whom  I 
chanced  to  meet.  Said  he,  '  They  are  talking  of  going 
to  war  with  the  English.  Well,  my  people  all  hate 
the  damned  English,  but  they  are  not  satisfied  with 
the  way  things  are  going.  They  tell  me  that  they 
hear  that  Oom  Paul  is  rich  ;  that  he  rides  in  a  car- 
riage, and  does  no  work.  They  say  they  are  poor  and 
are  getting  nothing  out  of  the  Government  stealings, 


64  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

and  that  if  they  are  sent  to  war  Kruger  had  better 
look  out,  or  they  may  come  with  their  guns  and  ask 
him  to  divide  with  them  !  " 

"  I  want  to  see  the  Boers,"  said  I.  "  I  think  of 
going  to  Stellenbosch  to  see  them  in  their  homes.  Is 
that  a  good  place  to  test  ?  " 

"  No.  You  might  as  well  go  to  Piccadilly  Circus  to 
see  the  English  farmer  or  the  Scotch  Highlander. 
The  Boers  in  Cape  Colony  are  so  very  different  from 
those  in  the  Transvaal  that  we  never  call  them  Boers. 
We  speak  of  them  as  Afrikanders.  They  are  one  hun- 
dred years  ahead  of  the  Transvaal  Boer.  They  are 
refined.  They  have  schools  and  colleges.  They  have 
never  been  far  or  long  removed  from  civilisation  and 
the  English.  You  will  get  very  wrong  ideas  if  you  go 
and  see  the  Cape  Dutch  and  write  them  up  as  Boers. 

"  Would  you  like  me  to  describe  a  Transvaal  Boer 
home  and  family?  Very  well,  I  know  them  nearly 
all,  and  have  stopped  with  scores  of  them,  for  they 
are  kindly  and  hospitable,  except  when  their  animosi- 
ties are  aroused.  A  Boer  house  is  a  building  made  of 
brick  and  roofed  with  zinc.  It  is  divided  into  two 
rooms,  with  a  wing  or  lean-to  at  the  back.  That  wing 
is  the  kitchen  where  the  Kaffir  girl  works.  The  other 
two  rooms  are  the  bedroom  and  the  living-room.  The 
sleeping  room  has  as  many  beds  as  are  required — 
usually  a  large  one  for  the  man  and  wife,  and  another 
for  the  children.     Often  you  will  see  the  children's 


THE  BOER  AT  HOME  65 

bed  pushed  under  that  of  the  parents.  The  living- 
room  contains  a  long  table  and  some  chairs,  seated 
and  backed  with  strips  of  leather.  There  will  be  an- 
other, smaller  table,  covered  with  American  oil-cloth, 
on  which  the  frau  keeps  her  simple  treasures.  These 
and  some  pictures,  pinned  up  without  frames,  are  the 
only  ornaments,  and  a  sort  of  settee  with  a  seat  made 
of  leather  strips  completes  the  furniture. 

"  There  may  sometimes  be  a  harmonium  in  the  cor- 
ner of  the  room,  and  if  you  can  play  any  simple  tunes 
the  whole  family  will  dance  as  long  as  you  like  to  play. 
For  bdoks  there  is  certain  to  be  a  Bible,  and  there  will 
be  a  prayer-book  if  they  can  afford  it.  They  are  re- 
ligious, you  know ;  that  is,  they  go  to  church,  and  are 
fond  of  thinking  themselves  in  God's  keeping,  but 
they  never  let  religion  interfere  with  business.  At 
a  horse  trade  they  will  cheat  the  back  teeth  out  of 
your  head. 

"You  have  heard  that  they  sleep  in  their  clothes? 
Well,  the  man  takes  off  his  coat  and  waistcoat,  and 
sleeps  in  whatever  else  he  has  on.  The  wife  drops  off 
an  outer  skirt,  perhaps,  before  she  gets  into  bed.  Of 
late  extra  rooms  have  been  added  to  the  houses  of  the 
better  class  Boers  ;  but  in  the  old  style,  typical,  two- 
roomed  house,  whoever  stops  overnight  must  sleep 
with  the  old  folks  or  children.  When  you  sleep  with 
the  old  folks  the  husband  always  takes  the  middle  of 
the  bed. 
5 


(£  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"A  story  which  I  know  is  true,  is  told  of  Bishop 
Merriman.  He  was  once  entertained  in  this  way,  and 
when  he  woke  in  the  morning  he  found  that  the  Boer 
had  crept  out  to  look  after  his  cattle.  He  gave  one 
glance  at  his  sleeping  companion,  and  dropped  out  of 
bed  as  quickly  as  if  he  had  been  thrown  out. 

"  As  to  any  signs  of  their  ablutions,  you  will  seldom 
see  a  Boer  with  a  clean  face.  One  of  them  has  written 
to  a  Capetown  relative  that  his  people  will  not  wash 
until  they  have  driven  the  British  into  the  sea.  That 
sounds  impressive,  but  will  not  entail  much  hardship 
upon  his  people. 

"  They  tell  a  story  about  Paul  Kruger's  '  polish ' 
after  he  had  been  to  London  and  seen  the  Queen  and 
Mr.  Gladstone.  It  is  not  a  true  tale,  but  it  might 
easily  be  true  of  the  average  Boer.  The  story  goes 
that  when  Kruger  came  home,  and  was  about  to  get 
into  bed,  his  wife  came  in  and  saw  him  dressed  in  a  suit 
of  pyjamas.  'Paul!'  she  exclaimed,  'what  are  you 
doing  with  those  English  fool  clothes?  Take  them 
off  and  put  on  your  trousers,  and  go  to  bed  like  an 
honest  burgher.* 

"  As  to  their  intelligence,  you  know  the  very  old 
story  of  the  Englishman  who  was  walking  through 
Cape  Colony,  and  was  warned  never  to  say  he  was 
English  in  any  house  where  he  was  asking  for  a  meal. 
He  always  said  he  was  '  from  Yorkshire/  and  was 
handsomely    treated.     I    don't    know    whether    that 


THE  BOER  AT  HOME  67 

is  true  or  not,  but  it  is  not  an  exaggerated  illustra- 
tion. 

"  A  leading  Boer  told  me  the  other  day  that  his 
countrymen  would  not  stop  until  they  have  driven  the 
English  into  Table  Bay.  *  And  then,'  said  he,  '  we 
shall  go  on  and  capture  England.' 

"  *  How  can  you  do  that  without  ships  ?  '  I  asked 
him. 

'* '  Oh,'  he  replied,  *  how  did  Moses  get  the  children 
of  Israel  across  the  Red  Sea?  They  did  not  need  any 
ships.  Just  in  the  same  fashion  God  will  find  a  way 
for  us.' 

*'  Another  Boer  who  was  talking  of  England,  said  to 
me,  *  I  suppose  you  can  see  England  from  Capetown, 
can't  you  ? '  " 

Finally,  my  friend  closed  his  remarks  by  saying  that 
it  was  impossible  to  give  me  a  clear  idea  of  the  Boers 
in  such  a  short  talk.  He  cautioned  me  to  recollect 
that  there  are  the  Dutch  in  Cape  Colony,  who  are  one 
hundred  years  ahead  of  the  better  class  Dutch  who 
live  in  houses  in  the  Transvaal. 

"  These,"  he  said,  ''  are  the  ones  about  whom  I  have 
been  speaking.  But  these,  in  turn,  are  far  ahead  of 
the  Boers  who  move  north  and  south  with  their  cattle 
every  year,  and  live  at  least  a  part  of  the  time  in 
tents." 


CHAPTER  V 

IDLERS   AND    MILLIONAIRES 

The  refugees,  by  whom  London  had  dealt  so  gener- 
ously, formed  the  most  conspicuous  feature  of  every 
landscape  in  Capetown. 

The  people  of  the  city  went  about  their  business, 
and  were  doing  many  times  more  of  it  than  they  ever 
had  done  before ;  but  they  made  scarcely  any  show, 
they  were  so  outnumbered  on  all  sides  by  the  refugees. 
These,  having  nothing  else  to  do,  lined  the  pavements, 
blocked  the  shop  doors,  and  formed  living  walls  round 
the  open  spaces  where  Volunteers  seemed  to  be  for 
ever  drilling. 

Worry  breeds  worry,  and  a  week  ago  the  authorities 
were  so  anxious  lest  they  might  have  trouble  with  the 
disloyal  Dutch  subjects  of  the  Queen,  that  they  went 
further,  and  borrowed  trouble  by  anticipating  possible 
desperation  among  the  strangers  when  the  time  came 
that  all  should  have  spent  the  little  money  they  pos- 
sess. 

The  police  had  orders  not  to  allow  pedestrians  to 

loiter  in  the  streets,  and  it  was  a  difficult  matter   to 
68 


IDLERS  AND  MILLIONAIRES  69 

live  in  the  city,  because  one  could  not  wait  for  a  tram- 
car,  or  stop  to  shake  hands  with  a  friend,  without  being 
ordered  by  a  policeman  to  move  on.  Such  zeal  v/as 
too  excessive  to  last,  and  soon  the  crowds  were  allowed 
to  stand  about  as  they  pleased. 

There  were  thousands  of  these  refugees.  They  ap- 
peared to  be  all  men,  because  the  women  were  kept  in 
their  lodgings  and  the  buildings  allotted  to  them,  look- 
ing after  their  children. 

It  was  the  men  only  who  were  crowding  the  streets, 
mainly  young  fellows  who  were  miners  in  Johannes- 
burg before  they  were  expelled.  They  used  to  earn 
as  much  as  £24  a  month,  out  of  which  the  majority 
spent  no  more  than  ;^8  for  living.  They  are  so  gener- 
ally thrifty  that  large  numbers  went  to  England  every 
year,  and  those  who  did  not  dissipate  their  savings  in 
this  manner  accumulated  tidy  sums  in  the  bank. 
Among  them  were  Americans,  Australians,  English, 
and  other  Europeans,  but  the  great  majority  were 
what  we  call  Anglo-Saxons. 

Scores  of  hard  characters  had  come  here  with  them, 
and  they  may  give  trouble  when  the  pinch  comes ;  but 
they  had  not  done  much  mischief  yet. 

The  banks  now  displayed  warnings  to  customers  not 
to  leave  their  money  on  the  counters,  as  several  sums 
had  been  snatched  by  thieves,  and  once  in  a  while 
there  was  a  com.motion  in  the  streets  over  the  enter- 
prise   of    a   pickpocket  ;    but    South    African    mining 


70  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

crowds  have  always  been  quite  orderly,  and  they  are 
likely  to  keep  their  good  name. 

Some  of  the  most  unruly  Uitlanders  in  the  Trans- 
vaal, many  of  whom  were  released  from  the  gaols,  were 
rumoured  to  have  been  landed  at  Delagoa  Bay,  penni- 
less and  hungry,  and  to  have  set  that  little  place  in  a 
panic  of  fright,  but  that  class  had  not  reached  Cape- 
town. 

The  air  vibrated  with  pitiful  stories  told  by  the 
refugees  of  their  trials  on  the  way  to  British  protec- 
tion. Men  had  been  driven  away  from  the  bedsides 
of  dying  children  ;  enceinte  women  had  been  hustled 
out  of  the  Transvaal  along  with  the  strongest ;  Boers 
had  slapped  the  faces  of  women  refugees  for  complain- 
ing of  ill-treatment,  and  thousands  of  men  and  women 
had  been  obliged  to  carry  all  their  goods  for  miles, 
where  the  metals  of  the  railway  were  torn  up  near  the 
Orange  Free  State  border. 

The  theme  of  the  moment  was  Boer  outrages  ;  but 
this  was  natural  under  the  circumstances,  and  while 
many  of  the  stories  were  true,  many  others  were 
neither  quite  true  nor  quite  false.  We  are  fighting 
the  Boer,  and  since  he  has  chosen  to  resort  to  war,  it 
will  be  enough  for  him  if  he  is  served  with  the  best 
fighting  that  England  knows  how  to  give  him. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  officials  of  the  city  it  was  agreed 
that  several  hundreds  of  these  idle  men  should  be 
offered  work  at   reclaiming  land,  at  railway  building 


IDLERS  AND  MILLIONAIRES  71 

elsewhere  in  the  colony,  at  making  macadam  for  roads 
and  streets,  and  at  other  labour,  much  of  it  being 
forced,  in  order  to  give  self-support  to  those  who  are 
eager  to  work  and  unwilling  to  take  charity. 

It  was  not  a  moment  too  early  to  begin  providing 
this  relief  for  the  men.  The  women,  who  seemed  to 
be  generally  in  greater  distress,  were  in  the  care  of  the 
Ladies'  Relief  Committee,  a  very  energetic  and  enthu- 
siastic body.  Over  all  was  the  gigantic  Lord  Mayor's 
Fund,  which  had  been  very  little  drawn  upon  as  yet. 
How  far  it  would  go,  and  what  would  happen  when 
all  the  refugees  were  penniless,  time  alone  could  dis- 
close. There  were  men  in  Capetown  who  pulled  very 
long  faces  when  this  subject  was  discussed,  and  some 
who  said  frankly  that  they  expected  a  period  of  law- 
lessness to  end  the  extraordinary  situation. 

In  the  meantime,  it  had  to  be  remembered  that 
there  was  a  class  of  millionaire  refugees  whose  lot  was 
very  unlike  that  of  these  idlers  in  the  streets.  So  very 
many  millionaires  have  been  pointed  out  to  me  that  I 
suspect  the  term  is  quite  an  elastic  one,  which  takes 
in  everybody  who  can  afford  to  pay  from  a  pound  to 
two  pounds  a  day  at  the  best  hotels  in  the  city.  Some 
few  were  undoubtedly  very  rich,  and  are  even  famous 
for  their  successes  on  the  Rand. 

When  I  think  of  these  fortunate  folk,  two  very 
pleasant  pictures  rise  before  my  memory.  One  is  a 
scene  at  the  Queen's  Hotel,  down  on  the  bay,  where 


72  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

flowers  and  grass  meet  the  dark  green  sea.  The  moon 
hangs  like  a  brilliant  ball  amid  a  myriad  brighter  stars 
and  planets  than  we  of  the  north  ever  see,  and  all  their 
beams  concentrate  upon  a  well  ordered  garden,  on 
whose  paths  the  so-called  millionaires  stroll  after  dinner. 

The  men  smoke,  and  the  ladies  in  stylish  gowns 
parade  to  and  fro,  laughing  and  chatting  as  if  there 
were  no  war  that  had  made  them  all  exiles  from  their 
former  land,  and  luxurious  homes.  A  great  many 
here  are  Hebrews. 

The  next  scene  is  at  the  Mount  Nelson  Hotel.  It  is 
dinner  time.  A  grand  dining-hall,  sparkling  with  plate 
and  crystal,  and  set  with  snowy  table  linen,  contains 
sixty  or  seventy  persons  in  ultra-fashionable  attire. 
The  ladies  are  in  decollete  dresses,  and  gems  flash  upon 
their  necks  and  bodices.  Musicians  play  to  them 
from  a  gallery  at  one  end  of  the  hall,  and  Swiss  waiters 
serve  them  with  the  delicacies  of  the  London  market, 
brought  here  in  refrigerators  by  the  ships  of  the  Castle 
line. 

The  talk  is  of  the  opera,  the  play,  the  day's  drive  or 
sail.  Nothing  that  can  be  imagined  could  be  in  stronger 
contrast  with  what  we  think  of  refugees,  than  the  lux- 
ury and  calm  of  such  scene. 

Some  of  those  present  here  are  Englishmen  and 
Americans,  but  many  are  of  that  persuasion  which  once 
cut  so  important  a  figure  in  the  Rand,  who  were  then, 
apparently,  able  to  enjoy  the   society  and  companion- 


IDLERS  AND  MILLIONAIRES  73 

ship  of  all  the  others.  To  such  a  man  I  one  day  ex- 
pressed a  rather  slighting  opinion  of  Johannesburg. 
Tears  came  to  his  eyes,  and  his  voice  thickened. 

"  I  am  a  Chermaii  '  sriclhe,  *'  und  I  haf  lived  in  Eng- 
land, but  what  do  1  c  for  such  places  if  I  can  live 
in  Johannesburg.  is  de  finest  place  in  dis  vorld, 

vhere  ve  hef  de  best  s  ziety,  delufliest  homes,  de  most 
wirtuous  beople,  und  de  habbiest  dimes  vot  it  is  pos- 
sible to  imachin.  Shall  I  give  you  a  picture  of  von 
home  in   Johannesbirg? 

'^  Veil,  it  is  efening,  und  der  friends  of  de  family  have 
come  to  de  droring-room  from  a  dinner  vhich  you 
can't  beat  for  a  sovereign  a  head  in  London.  Dere  is 
music  by  our  daughters,  and  von  of  'em  is  singing. 
Ve  can't  haf  Patti  every  night,  but  you  hear  the  sweet- 
est voices  und  der  loveliest  songs,  und  indellect  is  not 
missing. 

*'  Over  in  a  corner  a  man  speaks,  berhaps,  a  leetle 
astronomy,  vhile  all  ofer  der  room  men  and  vimmen 
are  discussing  der  latest  literary  dopics.  Und,  peside 
all  dot,  in  a  small  room  in  der  back  of  der  house,  a  few 
friends  amuse  demselves  mit  cards." 

The  more  I  think  of  that  finished  picture  of  *'  de 
best  soziety  and  most  wirtuous  beople,"  the  more  I  am 
astonished  that  we  do  not  see  a  corps  of  millionaires 
arming  and  rushing  north  to  wrest  their  little  paradise 
from  the  Boers. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CLIMATE   AND   KAFFIRS 

To  be  perfectly  happy  In  November  anywhere  be- 
tween the  Cape  and  the  Zambesi,  the  traveller  should 
take  a  fig-leaf  for  a  daytime  costume,  and  a  Laplander's 
suit  of  furs  for  the  night. 

I  take  off  all  that  the  law  allows  every  day,  and  then 
gasp  in  the  shade  of  my  tent,  but  at  night  I  do  myself 
up  in  a  lambswool  wrapper,  two  ordinary  blankets, and 
a  steamer  rug,  and  lie  down  to  listen  to  the  rattle  of 
my  teeth,  until  the  sun  begins  to  blaze  through  the 
canvas  at  daybreak.  We  who  are  at  the  headquarters 
at  De  Aar  are  having  what  the  tradesmen  would  call  a 
choice  line  of  selected  weather,  every  known  kind 
coming  in  each  twenty-four  hours,  and  all  served  to  us 
in  wholesale  lots. 

Often  half  a  dozen  sorts  and  degrees  get  mixed  up. 
At  such  times  we  have  a  blistering  sunshine  with  an 
Antarctic  breeze  blowing  through  it.  Then  on  the  top 
of  that  comes  a  Sudanese  sandstorm  made  up  of  whirls 
that  obscure  the  sun,  and  play  the  mischief  with  the 
camp,  lifting  up  the  skirts  of  the  tents,  and  coating 
everything  red. 
74 


CLIMATE  AND  KAFFIRS  75 

In  one  of  these  whirls  you  can  lay  a  clean  white 
handkerchief  between  two  overcoats,  and  when  you 
take  it  out  it  will  look  as  if  it  had  been  soaked  in  beef- 
tea.  After  the  dust  whirl  comes  a  tropical  thunder 
shower,  at  the  end  of  which  the  sun  sets  with  a  splen- 
dour no  painter  would  dare  try  to  put  on  canvas.  As 
for  the  effect  of  the  climate  on  man,  it  is  not  fair  to  say  it 
is  healthy,  and  let  it  go  at  that.  If  I  may  judge  from 
this  part  of  Cape  Colony  in  November,  it  actually 
beats  Colorado,  in  the  United  States. 

To  go  to  Colorado  you  must  be  a  millionaire  with 
only  one  lung,  and  you  must  keep  your  lung,  and  part 
with  your  million.  But  here  the  rule  is,  to  come  pen- 
niless, with  no  lungs.  Thus  established,  you  develop 
new  lungs,  and  become  a  millionaire.  All  the  African 
millionaires  started  with  neither  money  nor  respiratory 
organs,  and  are  now  the  most  energetic,  able-bodied  men 
of  business  alive.  Paul  Kruger  is  an  exception.  He 
is  having  bad  luck.  But  he  began  unfairly  with  sound 
lungs. 

We  are  on  the  edge  of  the  Karroo  Desert.  It  is  a 
tract  which  looks  like  a  rubbish-shooting  ground  of  im- 
perial size.  It  is  everywhere  rolling,  and  framed  by 
great  hills,  except  where  the  billows  of  baked  and 
stony  earth  take  the  form  of  kopjes  (called  *'  coppies  "), 
or  small  hills.  The  entire  country  is  about  equally 
spotted  with  small  stones  and  little  dry  tufts  of  vege- 
tation, mainly  sagebrush.     These  are  so  bare  and  dry 


^e  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

that  they  look  like  roots.  The  barren  watercourses 
torture  little  trees  to  grow  beside  them,  and  these  also 
are  so  bare  and  brown  that  they  might  as  well  be 
turned  bottom  upward. 

In  every  direction  the  view  is  unobstructed  for 
miles,  yet  you  see  nothing  but  the  same  burnt  desert 
with  the  hot  air  dancing  over  it.  There  are  occasional 
little  herds  of  goats  tended  by  native  children,  but 
they  never  show  until  you  are  close  upon  them.  The 
Karroo  might  well  be  a  heaven  for  snakes,  lizards,  and 
beetles,  but  I  saw  none — nor  any  living  thing  except 
a  few  goats,  a  few  stately  ostriches,  a  few  Kaffirs  in 
rags  or  blankets,  and  one  small  black-and-white  bird 
that  would  pass  for  an  undersized  magpie  at  home. 
Silence,  solitude,  desolation — multiply  these  a  milHon- 
fold,  and  you  have  the  Karroo. 

It  is  not  without  beauty,  and  it  is  not  without  a 
future.  Everywhere,  in  everything,  its  colours  are 
wondrous.  Close  at  hand  the  hills  are  almost  brick- 
red,  a  little  farther  away  others  are  dove-coloured, 
while  the  farthest  ones  are  of  varying  shades  of  purple. 
Tufts  and  splotches  of  vivid  green  appear  wherever 
there  is  or  has  recently  been  water,  and  even  the  stones 
and  shrubs  are  full  of  colour. 

I  have  said  that  the  ground  is  stony.  It  is  so  stony 
that  you  cannot  make  up  your  mind  whether  the  thin 
soil  is  being  formed  of  disintegrating  stones,  or 
whether  there  once  was  a  soil  which  has  been  washed 


CLIMATE  AND  KAFFIRS  tj 

off  down  to  the  broken  surface  of  the  bed-rock.  And 
yet  man  can  do  with  it  what  the  Mormons  have  done 
with  the  great  American  desert,  now  fast  becoming  a 
garden  land.  In  some  places  the  water  is  thirty  feet 
below  the  surface;  in  others  fifteen  hundred  to  two 
thousand  feet — but  there  always  is  water,  and  once 
it  bathes  the  surface  it  acts  like  a  magician's  wand. 

Whenever  you  see  a  railway  station  it  is  in  an  oasis 
of  green,  with  willow  and  eucalyptus  trees,  flowers, 
and  vegetables.  Before  I  woke  up  one  morning  the 
train  was  at  a  place  called  Matjesfontein,  and  a  man 
was  calling  out  my  name.  When  I  was  dressed  and 
out  on  the  platform  I  found  that  a  Mr.  J.  D.  Logan 
had  heard  I  was  passing  through,  and  wished  to  invite 
me  to  breakfast. 

As  I  rubbed  my  eyes  I  saw  far  and  away  on  every  side 
the  stony,  tufted,  shimmering  desert,  yet  close  beside 
me  were  tree-shaded  cottages,  with  blooming  gardens 
and  lawns  around  each.  Hurried  away  from  the 
picturesque  station  to  a  handsome  house,  I  found  a 
luxuriously  ordered  table,  smoking  hot  viands  led  off 
by  salmon  from  England,  with  trained  servants  to  add 
to  comfort  as  abundant  as  any  one  could  wish. 

This  was  Mr.  Logan's  village,  and  he  is  building  a  fine 
hotel  as  its  chief  glory.  While  we  ate  breakfast  he 
dictated  to  his  secretary  letters  of  introduction  to 
people  further  north,  and  before  I  finished  my  coffee 
the  letters  were  handed  to  me  type-written.     When 


7^  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

the  train  took  me  off  Mr.  Logan  started  on  a  shoot- 
ing trip.  The  whole  episode  was  like  a  tatter  of 
dreamland — a  little  spring  of  enterprise  gushing  out  in 
the  desert — and  yet  just  the  sort  of  thing  one  runs 
upon  in   South  Africa. 

Close  to  every  railway  station,  and  hugging  it  for 
that  companionship  which  all  negroes  love,  are  the 
huts  of  the  Kaffirs.  They  are  of  every  sort  that  costs 
no  money  and  little  labour.  Some  are  holes  in  the 
earth  roofed  over  with  tin  or  tarpaulin,  some  are  low 
huts  of  adobe  (mud-brick)  walls,  some  are  made  of  that 
corrugated  iron  which  is  the  eyesore  of  South  Africa. 

There  is  not  a  thing  about  these  Kaffirs,  or  their 
costumes,  or  their  houses,  that  I  have  not  noticed 
about  the  Guinea  negroes  of  Mississippi,  and  the  rest 
of  the  "  black  belt  "  of  the  United  States.  I  begin  to 
think  with  Burns  that  '^  a  (black)  man's  a  (black)  man 
for  a'  that."  Here  and  in  America  he  is  equally  shift- 
less, equally  ragged,  equally  jaunty  in  his  rags,  equally 
happy  in  his  misfortunes,  equally  prone  to  lie  in  the 
sun,  to  laugh,  to  sing,  and  to  pilfer. 

One  of  the  queerest  things  about  the  Kaffirs  is  that 
though  there  are  millions  of  them  in  South  Africa, 
they  make  no  mark  on  the  landscape.  They  herd  in 
little  bands  in  the  bushes,  and  by  the  stations  and 
villages,  and  you  never  have  the  faintest  notion  of 
their  numbers. 

The  Government  is  hiring  these  blacks  by  the  hun- 


CLIMATE  AND  KAFFIRS  79 

dreds  at  the  advance  camp  at  Pe  Aar,  and  is  paying 
them — what  do  you  think  r'  Four  pounds  ten  a 
month,  with  clothing,  lodging,  and  food  thrown  in. 
It  is  past  the  comprehension  of  Tommy  Atkins  how 
such  things  can  be,  and  I  have  heard  the  officers  who 
distribute  London-made  clothing  say  that  they  wish 
they  had  as  good  garments  for  themselves. 

The  reason  for  this  treatment  of  the  blacks  is  that 
they  ask  high  wages,  and  are  excellent  drivers  and 
transport  men.  It  is  also  true  that  the  British  every- 
where demoralise  the  blacks  with  too  generous  treat- 
ment, which  is  as  bad  for  them  as  Boer  unkindness. 


CHAPTER  VII 

NATAL  AND    LADYSMITH 

We  have  seen  the  circumstances  in  which  the  war 
opened,  and  under  which  the  respective  combatants 
prepared  themselves  for  the  encounter.  The  only  or- 
ganised field  force  on  the  spot  from  the  first  was  with 
General  Sir  George  White,  who  had  arrived  at  Durban 
from  India  on  the  7th  of  October.  His  fourteen  thou- 
sand troops  were  distributed  between  Pietermaritz- 
burg,  Estcourt,  Colenso,  Ladysmith,  and  Glencoe, 
names  which  were  unfamiliar  at  that  time  to  the  ma- 
jority of  Englishmen,  but  are  sadly  familiar  now. 

In  his  first  despatch.  General  White  records  that,  on 
the  loth  of  October,  the  Governor  of  Natal  informed 
him  of  the  ultimatum,  and  that  an  outbreak  of  war  on 
the  evening  of  the  nth  of  October  might  be  regarded 
as  certain.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  gallant 
general,  even  at  that  early  period,  regarded  the  mili- 
tary situation  with  dismay. 

He  knew  that  the  Boers  and  the   Free  Staters  were 

massed   on   the  frontiers,  ready  to  descend  upon  the 

northern  territory   of   Natal   from   the  passes  of  the 
80 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  8r 

Drakensberg  mountains ;  he  knew  also  that,  from  a 
miHtary  point  of  view,  this  northern  department  of 
Natal  was  untenable  by  the  forces  at  his  disposal.  He 
therefore  advised  that  a  great  portion  of  that  territory 
should  be  abandoned,  and  we  now  know  that  he  would 
have  vacated  the  whole  of  the  country  to  the  north  of 
the  Tugela,  had  he  not  been  overruled  by  political 
considerations.  It  is  to  this  fatal  error  that  most  of 
our  subsequent  misfortunes  are  to  be  attributed. 

The  Boers  crossed  the  frontiers,  both  on  the  north 
and  west,  on  the  I2th  of  October,  and  next  day  the 
Transvaal  flag  was  floating  over  Charlestown  in  Natal. 

The  enemy  came  on  in  three  columns.  The  main 
column,  under  General  Joubert,  occupied  Newcastle, 
and  then  marched  south.  Viljoen's  column  cut  the 
railway  from  Glencoe  Junction  to  Ladysmithat  Elands- 
laagte,  and  there  took  up  a  position.  Lucas  Meyer, 
with  the  third  column,  crossed  the  Buffalo,  and 
marched  westward  on  Dundee. 

Close  to  this,  the  centre  of  the  coal  mining  of  Natal, 
was  Sir  \V.  Penn  Symons,  with  the  iSth  Hussars,  a 
brigade  division  of  Royal  Artillery,  the  ist  Battalion 
Leicestershire  Regiment  and  mounted  infantry  com- 
pany, the  1st  Battalion  King's  Royal  Rifles  and 
mounted  infantry  company,  the  2nd  Battalion  Royal 
Dublin  Fusiliers  and  mounted  infantry  company,  with 
details.     In  all  about   3,500   men.     Against  him  were 

gathered  an    unknown  number  of  Boers. 
6 


82  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

It  was  afterwards  learnt  that,  before  delivering  an 
attack,  General  Joubert  intended  to  effect  a  junction 
with  Lucas  Meyer.  General  Symons,  however,  was 
prompt  enough  to  counteract  this  plan.  On  the  morning 
of  the  20th  of  October  he  came  so  closely  in  touch 
with  Meyer's  column  that  hostilities  were  opened,  and 
a  general  battle  developed.  The  Boers  occupied  a 
strong  position  on  Talana  Hill,  5,000  yards  from  the 
British  camp  at  Glencoe. 

The  attack  was  opened  by  the  Boers,  who  fired  early 
on  the  morning  of  the  20th  on  a  mounted  infantry 
picket  standing  east  of  Dundee,  at  the  junction  of  two 
roads  from  drifts  across  the  Buffalo.  Two  hours  after- 
wards, the  British  camp  was  not  a  little  surprised  by  a 
shell  which  came  thundering  from  the  Boer  lines. 

Sir  William  Symons  does  not  seem  to  have  known 
that  the  Boers  had  any  artillery  at  all,  whereas  they 
had  at  least  six  guns.  Their  shells,  however,  buried 
themselves  in  the  soft  earth,  and  did  not  burst. 
Nevertheless,  the  Boer  artillerymen  made  such  excellent 
practice  that  Sir  William  Symons  moved  the  majority 
of  his  troops  out  of  the  camp  and  advanced  towards 
the  enemy's  position. 

The  ground  between  the  camp  and  the  base  of 
Talana  Hill  was  of  an  open  character,  but  the  infantry, 
taking  advantage  of  every  variety  of  cover,  managed 
to  cross  this  space  with  only  slight  loss. 

Leading   his   men    gallantly   himself,    Sir   William 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  83 

directed  a  fierce  attack  upon  the  hill,  and  was  almost 
immediately  mortally  wounded.  The  infantry  swept 
on,  covered  as  far  as  possible  by  artillery,  the  men  with 
the  utmost  resolution  climbed  the  steep  rocks  on  hands 
and  knees,  and,  by  one  o'clock,  had  reached  the  crest 
and  put  the  enemy  to  flight.  About  500  Boers  were 
killed  and  wounded  ;  while  the  British  losses  amounted 
to  10  officers  and  31  non-commissioned  officers  and  men 
killed;  20  officers  and  160  non-commissioned  officers 
and  men  wounded;  and  9  officers  and  211  non-com- 
missioned officers  and  men  missing. 

The  last  item  needs  some  explanation.  The  i8th 
Hussars  were  ordered  to  move  round  the  enemy's  right 
flank,  and  be  ready  to  cut  off  his  retreat.  In  doing  so 
they  came  in  contact  with  General  Joubert's  column, 
were  surrounded,  taken  prisoner,  and  forthwith  de- 
spatched to  Pretoria.  This  was  a  great  damper  on 
what  at  the  time  seemed  to  be  a  notable  victory. 

Undaunted  by  his  rebuff,  General  Joubert  came 
steadily  on,  and  General  Yule,  who  succeeded  Symons 
in  command,  saw  that  his  position  was  becoming 
precarious.  He  communicated  the  fact  to  Sir  George 
White  at  Ladysmith,  and  it  was  arranged  that  he  should 
withdraw  to  that  town  as  soon  as  possible. 

In  the  meantime  the  Boers  had  developed  such  sur- 
prising mobility,  that  Sir  George  White  discovered 
them  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ladysmith  itself.  His 
cavalry  patrols  found  them  at  Elandslaagte,  clustered 


84  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

round  the  railway  station.  On  the  very  day  after  the 
battle  of  Glencoe,  therefore,  the  Commander-in-chief 
ordered  General  French,  commanding  the  cavalry  of 
the  Natal  force,  to  move  out  with  a  strong  body  of 
cavalry  and  artillery,  followed  by  infantr}'.  Thus  was 
brought  about  the  desperate  battle  of  Elandslaagte, 
fought  on  October  2 1st. 

General  French  had  only  arrived  from  England  two 
days  before,  and  at  once  commenced  that  career  of 
almost  uninterrupted  success  which  has  distinguished 
him  above  all  the  other  leaders  in  the  war. 

It  was  a  drizzly,  misty  morning.  The  advance  guard 
very  soon  came  in  touch  with  the  enemy.  Coming 
upon  the  edge  of  a  cliff,  they  could  see  the  Boers 
gathered  round  the  station  and  settlement  of  Elands- 
laagte, and  General  French  at  once  opened  artillery 
fire  upon  them.  The  Boers  replied  with  great  accuracy, 
though  again  their  shells  did  not  burst,  but  merely 
buried  themselves  in  the  ground  ;  and  then  General 
French  could  see  large  bodies  of  mounted  men  coming 
up,  apparently  in  support  of  the  force  he  was  attacking. 

Deeming  it  unadvisable  to  proceed  further  without 
reinforcements,  he  communicated  by  telephone  with 
Sir  George  White,  and  received  in  return  a  squadron 
of  the  5th  Dragoon  Guards,  a  squadron  of  the  5th 
Lancers,  the  21st  and  41st  Batteries  of  the  Royal  Field 
Artillery,  the  ist  Battalion  of  the  Devonshire  Regiment, 
and  five  companies  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders.     More 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  85 

artillery  fighting  took  place,  until  at  length  the  enemy's 
guns  appeared  to  be  silenced. 

There  was  not  much  daylight  left,  but  General 
French  decided  to  push  his  attack  home.  Again  there 
were  ridges  to  be  scaled,  and  rocks  to  be  climbed,  but 
our  men,  led  with  the  utmost  bravery  by  their  ofificers, 
headed  forward  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  by  this  time 
the  enemy  had  been  reinforced  by  the  German  con- 
tingent, who  occupied  a  strong  position  upon  a  horse- 
shoe ridge. 

One  incident  is  recorded  by  Sir  George  White  in  his 
official  despatch,  which  afterwards  was  frequently  re- 
peated. ''  Many  of  the  Boers,"  he  wrote,  "  remained 
lying  down,  shooting  from  behind  stones  until  our 
men  were  within  twenty  or  thirty  yards  of  them,  and 
then  sometimes  ran  for  it,  and  sometimes  stood  up 
and  surrendered.  These  latter  were  never  harmed, 
although  just  before  their  capture  they  had  probably 
shot  down  several  of  our  officers  and  men." 

Another  still  more  disquieting  and  dishonourable 
incident  is  also  recorded,  namely  the  abuse  of  the 
white  flag.  Colonel  Hamilton,  on  seeing  this  sacred 
emblem  exhibited  from  the  centre  of  the  Boer  camp, 
ordered  the  "  cease  fire  "  to  be  sounded. 

For  a  few  moments  there  was  a  complete  lull  in  the 
action.  Then  a  single  shot  was  heard,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  deadly  fire  from  a  small  conical  kopje,  and 
by  a  determined  charge  up  the  hill  by  some  thirty  or 


86  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

forty  Boers.  Our  men  fell  back  for  a  moment  before 
the  fierce  suddenness  of  this  attack,  but  only  for  a 
moment.  Reinforced  by  Devonshires,  they  charged 
back,  cheering,  to  the  crest  of  the  hill,  when  the  remnant 
of  the  Boer  forces  fled  in  confusion  towards  the  north. 

The  British  troops  had  gained  a  conspicuous  success, 
practically  annihilating  the  whole  of  the  Johannesburg 
commando.  Many  Boers  of  importance  were  killed, 
the  whole  of  the  enemy's  camp  was  taken,  and  the 
burghers  were  thoroughly  dispersed.  It  was  a  hardly 
contested  fight ;  the  Boer  losses  were  estimated  at 
over  lOO  killed,  io8  wounded,  and  i88  prisoners  ;  and 
they  also  lost  two  guns.  Our  casualties  consisted  of  4 
officers  and  37  men  killed,  31  officers  and  175  wounded, 
and  10  men  missing. 

This  victory,  though  so  dearly  bought,  had  the  hap- 
piest consequences.  General  Yule  started  on  the  22nd 
for  Ladysmith,  leaving  his  sick  and  wounded  behind. 
It  was  almost  a  forlorn  venture,  and  would  have  been 
utterly  so  but  for  the  battle  of  Elandslaagte.  Even, 
however,  after  that  crushing  defeat  had  been  inflicted 
on  the  enemy,  who  invested  the  country  between  Glen- 
coe  and  Ladysmith,  the  task  which  General  Yule  set 
himself  was  hazardous  in  the  extreme. 

Sir  George  White,  perceiving  this  risk,  moved  out 
again  on  October  24th  and  engaged  the  enemy  at  Riet- 
fontein,  with  a  view  to  covering  General  Yule's  flank. 
His  object  was  attained  with  entire  success,  although 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  87 

with  a  loss  of  one  British  officer  and  eleven  men  killed, 
six  officers  and  ninety-seven  men  wounded,  and  two 
missing. 

General  Yule's  column,  after  a  march  which  will 
live  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  military  history, 
-arrived  at  Ladysmith  on  October  25th  without  the  loss 
of  a  man. 

From  this  point  the  course  of  the  campaign  was  en- 
tirely dominated  by  the  original  decision  to  attempt  to 
hold  a  large  part  of  north  Natal.  In  little  more  than 
a  week  the  Boers  had  completely  invested  Ladysmith, 
isolating  the  large  force  of  eight  thousand  men  under 
the  command  of  Sir  George  White  and  General  Yule, 
and,  of  course,  closing  communications  with  the  south 
of  Natal. 

What  is  known  as  the  siege  of  Ladysmith  actually 
commenced  sometime  later  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  immediately  after  General  Yule  had  joined  hands 
with  Sir  George  White  the  two  were  rendered  abso- 
lutely ineffective  for  driving  out  the  invaders. 

Their  position  was  unenviable,  but  by  no  means 
desperate.  The  camp  had  been  skilfully  entrenched, 
and  contained  abundance  of  ammunition  and  provi- 
sions, while  the  Klip  River  assured  to  the  besieged  an 
ample  supply  of  water.  Still,  it  is  hardly  congenial  to 
the  British  spirit  to  be  hemmed  in  and  rendered  help- 
less for  any  lengthened  period,  and  almost  from  the 
day  the  investment  began  General  White  was  unceas- 


88  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

ing  in  his  efforts  to  injure  the  enemy,  and  to  break 
loose  from  him.  Disastrous  results  followed  upon  one 
such  effort,  however,  on  the  last  day  of  October. 

Colonel  Carleton,  with  the  Gloucesters,  Royal  Irish 
Fusiliers,  and  a  Mountain  Batter}^  had  been  ordered 
out  by  night,  with  the  view  of  turning  the  enemy's 
right  flank.  This  was  part  of  a  movement  which  was 
soundly  enough  conceived,  but  which  ended  in  a  ter- 
rible reverse.  While  Colonel  Carleton  was  making  his 
way  over  a  ridge  called  Nicholson's  Nek,  some  boulders 
fell,  or  were  thrown,  from  the  heights  above,  and 
frightened  the  mules  that  were  carrying  the  whole  of 
the  gun  equipment,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  small- 
arm  ammunition.  The  animals  stampeded,  and  in  a 
very  few  moments  the  whole  force  found  itself  left  de- 
fenceless, except  for  the  cartridges  the  soldiers  carried 
with  them. 

Not  only  was  the  force  defenceless,  but  it  seems  to 
have  been  thrown  into  a  state  of  semi-panic.  The 
men  were  standing  on  a  flat  kopje,  situated  among 
other  kopjes  which  dominated  it.  Realising  the  des- 
perate nature  of  their  position,  the  men  rallied,  and 
commenced  building  breast-works  with  such  boulders 
as  were  not  too  large  to  move. 

They  had  only  partially  succeeded  in  protecting 
themselves,  when  the  enemy  appeared  in  great  force. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  scene  that  followed.  It 
was  pitch  dark  ;  our   men   had  very  soon   discharged 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  89 

their  last  cartridge,  and  there  was  nothing  left  but  to 
face  the  Boers  with  the  bayonet,  and  with  the  grinn 
determination  to  sell  their  lives   as  dearly  as  possible. 

But  now  occurred  perhaps  the  most  singular  incident 
of  that  dreadful  night.  Some  one  was  heard  to  give 
the  order  to  "  cease  fire."  Whether  it  was  done  by 
one  of  our  officers  under  the  impression  that  nearly  all 
the  brave  little  band  had  been  slain,  and  that,  there 
being  no  more  ammunition,  further  resistance  was  use- 
less ;  or  whether,  as  is  not  improbable,  the  order  was 
shouted  by  some  one  among  the  enemy,  in  pursuance 
of  a  trick  by  which,  in  this  campaign,  the  Dutchmen 
have  won  several  advantages  over  us,  will  never  be 
known  ;  but,  at  all  events,  this  fine  body  of  men  fell 
hopelessly  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

They  sold  their  lives  and  liberty  dearly,  but  they 
suffered  complete  annihilation  as  a  fighting  body,  and, 
in  addition  to  a  number  of  casualties,  no  fewer  than 
eight  hundred  and  seventy  officers  and  men  were  taken 
prisoner. 

In  reporting  this  reverse,  Sir  George  White  gave  an 
example  of  chivalrous  acceptance  of  responsibility, 
which  deserves  to  be  especially  recorded.  He  tele- 
graphed, "  I  formed  the  plan  in  carrying  out  which  the 
disaster  occurred,  and  am  alone  responsible  for  that 
plan.  No  blame  whatever  attaches  to  the  troops,  as 
the  position  was  untenable." 

These  were  assuredly  the  words  of  a  brave  man,  and 


90  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

they  earned  for  him  the  sympathy  of  the  entire  nation. 
It  was  a  sad  blow,  both  to  our  material  power  and  to  our 
prestige,  but,  fortunately,  Sir  George  White  was  able 
to  assure  us  that  it  in  no  way  affected  the  course  of  the 
campaign,  or  lessened  the  security  of  Ladysmith. 

Then  the  lines  of  investment  were  drawn  closer  and 
tighter  than  ever  round  the  town.  The  Boers  posted 
heavy  guns  on  all  the  hills  surrounding  the  extensive 
plain  upon  which  Ladysmith  stands,  and  where  the 
camp  was  formed,  and  occupied  in  strong  force  all  the 
valleys  between  them. 

The  greatest  anxiety  prevailed  in  England  as  to 
whether  or  not  Sir  George  White  could  hold  out  until 
Sir  Redvers  BuUer  and  his  reinforcements  could  arrive. 
It  so  happened  that  General  Buller  landed  at  Capetown 
on  the  very  day  of  the  Nicholson's  Nek  disaster.  He 
received  the  news  as  he  stepped  ashore,  and  probablj 
at  that  moment  he  made  up  his  mind  that  the  relief  oi 
Ladysmith  was  a  matter  of  the  first  necessity. 

We  can  understand  now  how  disastrously  the  original 
military  blunder  made  in  northern  Natal  continued 
persistently  to  make  its  evil  effects  felt,  just  as  ripples 
spread  in  ever-widening  circles  round  the  stone  cast 
into  a  pool.  The  arrival  of  the  Army  Corps  was  now 
the  one  thing  to  look  for,  and  everybody  was  asking, 
"  What  will  General  Buller  do  with  it  ?  " 

It  was  understood  that  Buller's  plan  was  to  take  his 
troops  northwards  through  Cape  Colony,  and  invade 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  91 

the  Orange  Free  State.  Had  this  plan  been  followed, 
it  would  probably  have  paralysed  the  enemy,  and  led 
to  the  shortening  of  the  campaign.  But  General  BuUer 
felt  certain  that  the  situation  in  Natal  was  intolerable  ; 
that  the  first  thing  to  do  was  to  relieve  Ladysmith  ; 
and  that,  for  the  present  at  all  events,  the  original  plan 
of  campaign  must  be  abandoned. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  how  the  initial  mistake  made  in 
Natal  has  affected  the  whole  of  the  war  ever  since. 
General  Buller  ordered  the  transports  to  Durban,  and 
poured  his  troops  into  that  port,  himself  following  in 
due  time.  Altogether,  sixteen  thousand  men  were 
diverted  to  Natal.  General  Gatacre  took  a  strong 
force  to  Queenstown,  and  the  remainder,  under  Lord 
Methuen,  were  despatched  to  the  relief  of  Kimberley, 
which  was  already  closely  besieged. 

Thus  three  campaigns  were  developed  instead  of 
one,  and  the  British  forces  were  divided  between 
Natal,  the  northern  frontier  of  Cape  Colony,  and  the 
western  border  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  From  a 
strategical  point  of  view  nothing  could  have  been 
worse,  and,  although  all  went  well  for  a  few  days,  the 
country  was  soon  to  learn  with  bitterness  that  a  fatal 
error  had  been  committed,  the  effects  of  which  would 
be  felt  throughout  the  whole  struggle. 

With  Buller's  arrival  in  Natal,  the  hopes  both  of 
the  army  and  the  nation  rose  considerably.  There 
were  some  regrettable  incidents  round  Ladysmith,  such 


92  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

as  the  destruction  of  a  British  armoured  train  near 
Chieveley  ;  the  depredations  of  the  Boers  along  the 
banks  of  the  Tugela  River  ;  the  isolation  of  Estcourt, 
and  so  forth.  On  the  other  hand,  General  Hildyard, 
on  the  23rd  of  November,  fought  a  successful  action  at 
Willow  Grange  against  more  than  seven  thousand 
Boers,  commanded  by  Joubert  in  person. 

General  Buller  reported  that  this  action  resulted  in 
a  strategical  success  of  the  greatest  value,  and  it  was 
purchased  at  no  considerable  loss  of  life.  At  the  same 
time  General  White  found  it  utterly  hopeless  to  en- 
deavour to  break  through  the  Boer  line,  suffered  from 
a  daily  bombardment,  and  was  greatly  troubled  by  in- 
creasing sickness,  both  among  the  soldiers  and  civilians, 
in  the  camp  and  town. 

The  relief  of  Ladysmith  became  urgently  necessary, 
and  everyone  anxiously  looked  forward  to  some  deci- 
sive action  by  Buller.  Two  days  after  the  affair  at 
Willow  Grange  Sir  Redvers  arrived  at  Frere,  about 
twelve  miles  south  of  the  town  of  Colenso  on  the 
Tugela.  The  Boers  had  destroyed  the  bridges  over 
this  important  river,  and  had  entrenched  themselves 
on  the  steep  and  stony  sides  forming  the  north  bank. 
The  problem  before  Buller  was  how  to  cross  the  river, 
and  break  down  the  Boer  investing  lines  around  Lady- 
smith.  This  was  the  work  which  he  took  In  hand 
immediately  on  his  arrival. 

By  the  middle  of  December  his  preparations  began 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  93 

to  near  completion,  but  dark  days  were  in  store  for  us 
just  then.  This  was  the  week  which  saw  the  fright- 
ful disaster  to  Gatacre's  army  at  Stormberg,  and  the 
repulse  of  Lord  Methuen  at  Maaghersfontein.  The 
trilogy  of  disaster  was  soon  to  be  completed  by  the 
failure  of  General  Buller  at  Colenso. 

On  the  15th  of  December  he  delivered  his  blow,  but 
the  position  was  found  impregnable  ;  our  men  were 
shot  down  by  hundreds  by  an  invisible  enemy  ;  many 
were  drowned  in  the  stream  ;  the  artillery  came  within 
rifle  range,  and  had  all  its  horses,  and  nearly  all  its 
men,  killed  or  wounded  ;  and,  after  a  stubborn  fight, 
in  which  we  lost  eleven  hundred  men  wounded  or 
prisoners,  the  order  was  given  to  retire.  Buller  re- 
ported that  no  troops  could  live  in  the  open  against 
such  murderous  fire. 

Eight  of  our  guns  were  abandoned,  and  General 
Buller's  first  attempt  to  relieve  Ladysmith  had  failed, 
and  failed  utterly. 

The  Government  at  home  now  v/oke  up  to  the  criti- 
cal nature  and  requirements  of  the  situation.  Lord 
Roberts  was  asked  to  take  the  chief  command  in 
South  Africa,  and  consented.  Lord  Kitchener  was 
appointed  his  .chief  of  the  staff.  He  was  then  at 
Khartoum,  but  he  straightway  started  for  the  scene 
of  action,  and  joined  Lord  Roberts  at  Gibraltar.  An- 
other army  corps  was  ordered  to  be  mobilised  ;  more 
reserves   were   called  out ;  other  bodies   of  men  were 


94  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

raised  from  the  Militia,  Yeomanry,  and  Volunteers  ; 
our  Colonies  promised  further  contingents  ;  and  the 
whole  Empire  awoke  to  its  responsibilities. 

By  the  end  of  the  year  the  forces  raised  for  pur- 
poses of  war  numbered  no  fewer  than  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  men,  and  forty  thousand  more 
were  added  before  many  weeks  had  passed. 

General  Buller,  after  his  reverse,  rested  his  men  and 
waited  for  reinforcements.  Meanwhile  he  got  into 
heliographic  communication  with  General  White,  who 
reported,  at  the  beginning  of  January,  that  he  was 
very  hard  pressed.  The  Boers  had  made  a  terrific 
assault  upon  him,  and  had  only  been  repelled  after 
nearly  seventeen  hours'  fighting. 

Some  of  the  entrenchments  on  Waggon  Hill  were 
three  times  carried,  and  as  often  retaken  by  our  troops. 
The  enemy  was  finally  repulsed  and  driven  out  of  our 
positions  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Clearly  Buller 
must  strike  quickly,  and  strike  hard,  if  Ladysmith 
was  to  be  saved. 

His  reinforcements,  under  Sir  Charles  Warren,  duly 
arrived,  and  he  had  been  strengthened  in  artillery. 

At  last  the  cheering  news  came  from  his  head- 
quarters, on  the  17th  of  January,  that  he  had  crossed 
the  Tugela,  practically  without  opposition,  and  oc- 
cupied a  strong  position  on  the  northern  bank. 

Several  subsidiary  actions  followed,  in  which  Lord 
Dundonald's  mounted  men,  General  Clery  with  a  part 


NATAL  AND  LADYSMITH  95 

of  Warren's  force,  and  General  Lyttelton  were  engaged. 
The  Boers  evacuated  their  trenches,  and  they  were 
occupied  by  the  British.  On  the  night  of  Tuesday, 
January  23rd,  Sir  Charles  Warren  captured  an  important 
hill  known  as  Spion  Kop,  which  was  believed  to 
dominate  the  Boer  position.  In  fact.  General  Buller 
telegraphed — "  Warren  is  of  opinion  that  he  has 
rendered  the  Boer  position  untenable." 

There  were  heavy  losses  in  these  operations — mostly 
in  wounded — but  it  was  felt  that  a  very  sensible  advance 
had  been  made  towards  the  great  object  in  view. 
What,  therefore,  was  the  dismay  of  the  public  when 
it  learned  on  the  following  day  that  Spion  Kop,  which 
had  been  wrested  from  the  Boers  at  so  heavy  a  cost, 
had  been  abandoned.  The  fact  was  that  the  Boers 
poured  upon  it  so  terrific  an  artillery  fire  that  no 
troops  could  stay  there  and  live. 

Then  came  the  still  more  disquieting  and  bewildering 
intelligence  that  Buller  had  re-crossed  the  Tugela  and 
established  himself  in  the  camp  he  had  occupied  a 
month  before.  His  second  attempt  to  relieve  Lady- 
smith,  like  the  first,  had  failed. 

A  third  move  was  made  on  February  5th.  This 
time,  Buller  tried  a  double  movement.  On  the  front 
of  the  position  a  feint  was  made,  while  on  the  extreme 
right  General  Lyttelton's  Brigade  effected  the  passage 
of  the  river,  surprised  the  enemy,  and  captured  a  hill 
forming  part  of  the  Brakfontein  Range.     Here  again, 


96  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

however,  as  at  Spion  Kop,  the  gain  proved  to  be 
illusory,  and  once  more,  on  the  8th  of  February, 
Buller  retired  across  the  Tugela. 

It  was  impossible,  he  said,  to  entrench  himself  on 
the  north  bank,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground. 
He  spent  two  days  in  trying  to  do  so,  but  merely 
found  that  he  was  exposing  his  men  to  heavy  guns 
fired  from  positions  by  which  the  British  artillery  was 
dominated.     The  third  attempt  had  failed  also. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

AT   SIR    REDVERS    BULLER'S    HEADQUARTERS 

All  who  were  at  De  Aar  early  in  November  1899, 
felt  that  they  were  occupying  ground  which  was  soon 
to  become  historic.  Battles  come  mc^e  or  less  as  light- 
ning strikes,  but  in  this  case  the  great  treasury  of 
military  stores  which  was  accumulating  there  neces- 
sitated a  concentration  of  force  at  this  point,  and  such 
a  combination  must  sooner  or  later  attract  the  enemy. 

This  was  not  the  sort  of  fighting-ground  he  is  wont 
to  choose,  for  we  were  in  a  wide  level  basin,  whose 
hilly  walls  are  very  low  and  smooth,  but  we  felt  that 
he  must  come,  because  we  menaced  his  frontier  sixty 
miles  away,  and  tempted  him  with  such  an  amount  of 
stores,  guns,  and  ammunition  as  would  enable  him  to 
prolong  his  warfare  at  least  two  months  longer  than 
his  own  resources  would  permit. 

Every  day  that  the  Boers  still  delayed  our  camp 
grew  stronger,  though  this  was  not  the  case  before 
General  Buller  arrived  at  the  Cape.  Until  then  we 
had  only  the  second  battalion  of  the  Yorkshire  Light 
Infantry  to  protect  half  a  million  pounds'  worth  of 
7  97 


98  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

stores,  but  within  forty-eight  hours  a  battery  and  a 
half  of  artillery  had  arrived  from  England,  to  be 
followed  by  another  half-battery  from  the  Orange 
River. 

Rumours  of  Boers  in  the  neighbourhood,  or  crossing 
the  river  at  various  points,  caused  the  ofificersto  sleep 
in  their  boots  at  times,  but  all  now  felt  better  prepared, 
and  even  stories  of  attacks  on  the  railway  between  us 
and  the  Cape  caused  only  a  thrill  of  pleasurable  antici- 
pation. ^ 

The  British  base  of  supplies  was  at  Stellenbosch,  near 
Capetown,  with  De  Aar  as  the  advanced  post.  The 
two  formed,  as  it  were,  an  arm,  w^ith  the  elbow  at  the 
Cape  and  the  wrist  at  De  Aar.  In  time,  as  the  army 
pushed  forward,  it  was  proposed  to  build  other  advance 
posts  farther  north,  and  spread  apart  like  the  opened 
fingers  of  a  hand.  It  was  of  intense  interest  to  see  a 
great  post  Hke  this — a  mushroom  military  capital — 
spring  up  much  faster  than  weeds  ever  grow. 

Five  weeks  before  this  was  a  village  of  some  forty 
houses,  two  general  merchandise  shops,  a  church  or 
two,  a  school,  and  a  railway  men's  institute,  or  club- 
house. It  had  now  become  a  railway  junction  where 
the  trains  from  the  Cape  were  broken  up  to  reach  the 
Natal  coast  on  the  east,  and  the  Orange  River,  Johan- 
nesburg, &c.,  on  the  north.  The  villagers  were  the 
railway  employes.  All  around  the  little  bunch  of 
cottages  reached  a  great  level  desert  plain  tufted  with 


AT  BULLER'S  HEADQUARTERS  99 

wild  sage.  Large,  smooth,  table-topped  kopjes  en- 
closed the  plain  on  the  north-east  and  east,  and  low, 
sharp-edged  hills  made  its  western  walls. 

A  fortnight  after  war  had  begun  some  officers  of 
engineers  received  orders  to  make  a  camp  here,  and 
put  up  buildings  for  ammunition  and  stores.  They 
found  a  railway  pointsman's  iron-roofed  cottage,  and 
some  sheep  at  pasture,  where  they  determined  to 
begin  work.  The  pointsman's  house  became  the  mess, 
or  dining-room,  of  the  officers.  Fastidious  as  many 
are  at  home,  they  now  put  up  with  enamelled  iron 
plates,  sat  on  stools  and  soap-boxes,  and  fared  upon 
army  rations  of  so  much  meat,  so  much  bread,  such  a 
weight  of  potatoes,  and  so  much  mustard,  pepper,  and 
salt  apiece.  For  glasses  they  had  enamelled  iron 
mugs,  and  their  knives  and  forks  would  cost  twopence 
or  threepence  each  in  London. 

Where  they  found  the  sheep  at  pasture  there  sprang 
up  a  canvas  camp,  three  or  four  large  store  tents  such 
as  circus  side-shows  use  in  England,  and  a  number  of 
large  wooden  buildings  framed  with  corrugated  iron, 
and  filled  with  food  for  men  and  horses,  ammunition, 
and  the  essentials  of  warfare  and  soldier  existence. 
Planted  on  the  pasture,  too,  was  a  great  kraal  full  of 
new  transport  waggons,  carts,  and  carriages — by  the 
hundred. 

A  week  after  the  engineers  began  work  Captain 
Mackenzie,  of  the  Royal  Artillery,  who  had  been   in 


icxD  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

the  Free  State  buying  horses,  had  orders  to  set  up  a 
remount  office  at  this  place  for  the  purchase  of  horses 
and  mules,  and  to  establish  a  kraal  for  the  animals. 
He  bought,  or  leased,  a  piece  of  ground  to  accommo- 
date a  hundred  beasts.  Ever  since  then  he  had  been 
leasing  more  and  more  land,  until  his  camp  kraals 
extended  for  at  least  a  mile. 

An  outer  kraal  had  been  established  in  the  near  dis- 
tance, and  he  had  already  a  thousand  or  more  mules, 
and  hundreds  of  horses,  while  strings  of  valuable  beasts 
were  coming  in  every  day.  Next  to  his  Remount 
Camp  was  the  Army  Service  Camp,  and  next  to  that 
the  Medical  Camp,  with  its  Red  Cross  flag  flapping 
from  a  pole.  On  the  other  side  of  the  railway  were 
the  quarters  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  the  Artillery, 
and  the  Yorkshire  Regiment.  Far  off,  behind  every- 
thing else,  stretched  the  largest  of  these  canvas  villages 
— the  Kaffir  camp,  where  live  the  Kaffirs,  Cape  boys, 
and  Basutos  who  are  clothed,  fed,  housed,  and  paid  so 
highly  for  their  work  as  mule  drivers  and  transport 
men. 

Scattered  about  in  and  between  these  camps  were 
new  iron-sheathed  storehouses,  and  the  bowerj^  en- 
closure which  holds  the  cottage  chosen  for  Sir  Red- 
vers  Buller's  headquarters.  This  juts  out  into  the 
desert  tract,  a  refreshing  green  oasis,  whose  air  is 
cooled  by  the  shade  of  many  trees,  and  scented  by  the 
perfume  of  honeysuckle. 


AT  BULLER'S   HEADQUARTERS        loi 

The  rapid  and  masterly  construction  of  store-sheds 
was  a  source  of  constant  interest  and  wonder  to  us 
civilians.  On  one  morning  we  saw  men  laying  a  lot 
of  floor  timbers  on  the  ground.  By  nightfall  the 
framework  of  a  building  had  sprung  up  around  the 
beams,  and  in  twenty-four  hours  men  were  sheathing 
the  framework  with  iron,  while  others  were  building 
inner  walls,  with  counters,  lockers,  and  shelves  com- 
plete. In  this  way,  as  by  magic,  we  came  upon  a 
soldiers'  canteen  or  a  fifty-feet  storehouse,  across  a 
path  over  which  we  had  walked  to  the  village  on  the 
previous  day. 

Most  men  know  the  extreme  importance  of  the 
Army  Service  Corps  in  modern  military  affairs.  In 
the  Omdurman  campaign,  for  instance,  Lord  Kitch- 
ener's genius  was  shown  in  the  use  he  made  of  this 
body,  and  of  the  Engineers  and  Ordnance  Corps.  He 
was  thus  enabled  to  carry  an  army  perpetually  equipped, 
and  wanting  nothing,  straight  to  the  battle-field,  where 
the  combatant  force  did  its  decisive  work  in  a  day. 

Everything  seemed  to  promise  that  the  work  in  this 
Boer  campaign  would  be  the  same,  as  one  began  to 
realise  what  a  perfectly  complete  organisation  is  this 
Army  Service  Corps,  in  which  every  private  has  a  trade 
and  is  skilled  at  it.  Here  were  carpenters,  builders, 
railway  clerks,  smiths,  wheelwrights,  harness  makers, 
joiners — every  sort  of  mechanic  and  workman.  They 
were  up  at  bugle  call  at  daybreak,  and  worked  like 


102  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

beavers  until  six  o'clock  in  the  evening.  They  could 
make  you  a  waggon,  or  a  saddle,  or  a  cabinet ;  I  almost 
think  they  could  mend  a  watch,  or  build  a  bicycle. 

They  are  trained  to  run  a  railway  after  the  engi- 
neers have  built  it,  and  we  had  the  Ordnance  Corps 
here  to  supply  clothing  and  arms,  the  medical  men  for 
doctors,  the  engineers  for  sanitation,  and  all  of  them 
together  as  warriors.  In  a  word,  De  Aar  was  a  com- 
plete city  except  for  jewellers,  milliners,  and  dress- 
makers, and  if  it  was  to  be  permanent  we  had  the 
means  to  turn  its  canvas  tents  into  stone  houses,  and 
its  desert  trails  into  paved  streets. 

All  this  was  the  civil  aspect  of  the  camp  as  a  base  of 
supplies.  But  the  military  who  ruled  and  guarded  it 
were  quite  as  active.  They  had  dotted  the  hills  with 
breastworks,  thrown  up  redoubts  of  earth  or  stone  or 
provender  boxes  on  the  plain,  and  spent  their  own 
busy  days  in  drilling,  gun  firing,  and  hill  climbing, 
while  our  corps  of  scouts  had  been  ranging  all  over 
the  adjacent  country. 

Meantime  our  natives  had  been  invaluable.  They 
had  fed  and  groomed  the  horses,  and  trained  the  mules 
in  ten-span  teams  to  drag  the  heavy  transport  waggons 
up  and  down  the  roads  in  clouds  of  dust  from  morning 
until  night.  Capetown  at  night  is  a  most  exciting 
city.  De  Aar  by  day  and  night  was  almost  as  excit- 
ing, and  a  thousand  times  more  novel. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    SITUATION   AT   DE   AAR 

Very  striking  was  the  extreme  youth  of  De  Aar, 
this  important  point  in  the  military  programme  of 
the  war,  and  its  amazing  growth.  What  was  desert 
ground,  harbouring  a  few  sheep,  less  than  five  weeks 
before,  rapidly  became  the  seat  of  five  camps  surround- 
ing half  a  million  pounds'  worth  of  stores.  How  it 
would  spread,  how  it  would  look,  what  would  be  its 
insurable  value,  inside  of  three  weeks,  when  tens  of 
thousands  of  troops  were  there,  the  mind  hesitated  to 
picture,  or  even  to  surmise. 

At  first  it  was  quite  common  to  hear  casual  remarks 
by  ofificers  to  the  effect  that  artillery  were  needed  here, 
and  that  perfect  protection  required  mounted  infantry. 
Such  comments  were  so  often  made  that,  as  soon  as 
the  value  of  the  stores  was  estimated  at  half  a  million 
pounds  I  took  the  trouble  to  inquire  exactly  what  pro- 
tection the  camp  enjoyed,  and  found  that  of  regular 
troops  there  were  none  but  the  2nd  Battalion  (Col. 
Barter's)  King's  Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  num- 
bering about  eight  hundred  men. 

103 


I04  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

There  were  two  guns — one  a  muzzle-loader,  and  one 
a  Hotchkiss — which  were  intended  for  Kimberley,  but 
were  stopped  here  because  Kimberley  was  cut  off  from 
communication.  To  be  sure  there  were  the  men  of  the 
Army  Service  Corps  and  of  the  Royal  Engineers, 
numbering  125  more  combatants,  making  less  than  a 
thousand  fighting  men  in  all,  with  two  guns.  In 
other  words,  until  four  days  ago,  one  thousand  men 
here  were  under  sentence  of  death,  or  ignominious  sur- 
render, whenever  the  Boers  should  have  chosen  to 
deliver  judgment. 

Fancy  a  capital  "  O  "  split  apart  at  the  top  and  bot- 
tom. Fancy  the  letter  made  by  hills,  and  the  space 
between  a  wide,  long,  level  tract  of  sage-brush  and 
sand,  with  the  Cape  lying  at  the  further  end  of  hun- 
dreds of  miles  of  desert.  Fancy  the  Orange  River 
sixty  miles  away,  with  two  thousand  five  hundred  men 
holding  the  bridge  over  it,  and  a  battalion  of  one 
thousand  men  broken  into  five  bodies  of  troops  iso- 
lated at  as  many  points — all,  except  the  force  at  the 
Orange  River,  inviting  certain  destruction.  Remem- 
ber, too,  that  not  only  the  Boers  of  the  Free  State 
and  the  Transvaal  were  to  be  feared,  for  we  were  in 
an  enemy's  country,  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  This 
is  the  Cape  Colony  of  Great  Britain  ;  but  it  is,  in  the 
spirit  of  the  majority  of  its  inhabitants,  not  to  be  likened, 
thank  Heaven,  to  any  other  of  her  Majesty's  colonies. 

Were  the  hills  around  De  Aar  held  by  our  troops 


THE  SITUATION  AT  DE  AAR  105 

and  fortified  ?  The  farthest  ones — to  the  eastward — 
were.  The  nearer  ones,  dominated  by  a  magnificent 
elevation  from  which  shot  could  have  been  fired  into 
this  camp  from  mediaeval  guns  of  wood,  were  left  open 
to  any  w^ho  might  choose  to  take  and  intrench  them. 
This,  then,  was  the  predicament  of  De  Aar  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Boer  rebellion.  Every  man  there  daily 
expected  attack,  and  no  one  but  the  Omniscient  Ruler 
of  all  destinies  can  conceive  why  an  attack  was  not  made. 

As  the  time  went  on,  however,  the  situation  im- 
proved. General  Sir  Redvers  BuUer's  arrival  at  Cape- 
town was  followed  by  the  abandonment  of  Colesburg 
and  Naauwpoort,  two  of  the  many  villages  in  which 
small  forces  had  been  kept  at  the  mercy  of  the  Boers. 
The  concentration  of  these  troops  at  this  point  im- 
mediately succeeded,  and  we  gained  a  battery  and  a 
half  (nine  guns  of  the  latest  pattern),  and  four  hun- 
dred men  of  the  Berkshire  Regiment. 

Major-General  Wood  of  the  Engineers,  arrived  at 
about  the  same  time,  r.  d  instantly  the  commanding 
hills  to  the  west,  close]  overlooking  the  camp,  bristled 
with  men  digging  ( ntrenchments  and  erecting  de- 
fences for  rifle  fire  and  guns. 

These  opportune  changes  distinctly  encouraged  the 
brave  fellows  entrusted  with  the  care  and  accumula- 
tion of  stores  for  the  many  regiments  which  were  to 
come,  and  which  were  to  advance  from  here  for  the 
prompt  settlement  of  this  war. 


io6  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

At  least  two  thousand  strong  in  combatant  force, 
we  had  something  Hke  a  dozen  guns,  with  the  hills 
fortified  and  manned  by  day  and  night.  We  formed 
redoubts  of  earth,  of  forage,  and  of  biscuit  boxes,  as 
well  as  many  trenches  on  the  level  ground  between 
the  hills.  We  could  sleep  with  the  consciousness  that 
we  were  able  to  make  a  stiff  opposition  to  the  enemy, 
though  we  still  needed  mounted  infantry.  If  we  had 
such  a  force,  and  three  thousand  more  fighting  men, 
we  might  have  the  sweeter  assurance  of  not  being 
compelled  to  suffer  very  great  slaughter,  or  submit  to 
the  necessity  of  surrendering  these  stores,  which 
would  prolong  the  war  against  us  for  weeks  were  they 
to  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands.  Thus  we  were  thank- 
ful for  many  things,  among  them  being  the  knowledge 
that  the  precarious  past  was  gone  by,  that  the  Boers 
had  missed  their  best  chance,  and  that  we  could  give 
a  good  account  of  ourselves  when  those  hovering 
round  should  call  us  into  battle. 

We  had  another  change  w  i  ich  chimed  in  w^ell  with 
the  improvement  of  our  defent  ^^ — we  were  put  under 
martial  law.  What  this  form  Oi'  government  entails 
will  be  understood  from  the  following  copy  of  the  reg- 
ulations posted  up  at  the  station  and  the  post-ofHce  : — 

1.  Martial  law  has  been  proclaimed  in  De  Aar. 
The  following  camp  regulations  will  come  into  imme- 
diate operation : 

2.  No  person  is  allowed  to  remain  in  or  to  quit  De 


THE  SITUATION  AT  DE  AAR         107 

Aar  without   a  permit  signed  by  the  magistrate,  and 
countersigned  by  the  camp  commandant. 

3.  The  permits  for  railway  officials  [this  is  a  railway 
centre]  will  be  signed  and  issued  by  the  heads  of  the 
traffic,  loco,  and  engineering  departments ;  for  postal 
officials  by  the  head  of  that  department. 

4.  Any  person  found  selling  intoxicating  liquor  to  a 
soldier,  or  to  a  native  or  coloured  person,  will  be  im- 
mediately apprehended,  and  the  whole  of  his  goods 
seized. 

5.  The  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  to  others  can  only 
take  place  between  the  hours  of  11  a.m.  and  6  p.m. 
This  includes  the  sale  of  liquor  to  persons  staying  in 
any  hotel  or  boarding-house  in  De  Aar. 

6.  Every  person  keeping  house  or  a  boarding-house, 
or  receiving  any  one  into  his  private  house  to  stay  for 
one  night  or  more,  is  required  to  obtain  the  permission 
of  the  camp  commandant  before  doing  so. 

7.  No  person  other  than  railway  and  postal  officials 
will  be  allowed,  without  a  special  pass,  out  of  their 
houses  after  half-past  9  p.m. 

8.  Any  person  infringing  these  regulations  will  be 
dealt  with  by  martial  law. 

This  proclamation  was  ordered  by  the  Major-Gen- 
eral commanding,  and  thus  a  very  necessary  change, 
tending  to  exclude  Boer  sympathisers  from  the  camp, 
also  dated  from  the  arrival  of  General  Buller  and  the 
instalment  here  of  Major-Gencral  Wood. 


CHAPTER  X 

HEADQUARTERS   DURING  A   BATTLE 

The  very  mechanical  routine  of  life  at  an  advance 
post  like  De  Aar,  where  a  few  troops  simply  hold 
stores  for  others  who  are  to  come,  grows  almost  as 
tiresome  as  watching  the  sails  of  a  windmill  for  days 
at  a  time.  So  I  ran  down  to  Orange  River,  sixty 
miles,  and  was  rewarded  by  scenting  the  first  aroma  of 
battle  on  this  side  of  the  seat  of  war. 

My  idea  was  simply  to  see  this  outpost  on  the  fron- 
tier, to  walk  over  into  the  enemy's  country  if  possible, 
and  to  compass  the  place  in  my  mind's  eye,  in  order 
to  understand  whatever  might  happen  there  in  days 
to  come. 

A  friend  who  knew  Colonel  the  Hon.  G.  H.  Gough 

went  with  me  early  in   November  to  pay  his  respects 

to  the  commandant.     The  same  veldt   reaches  all  the 

way  from    De  Aar  to  the  river — a  plain  littered  with 

tufts  of  wild  sage  and  pimpled  with   hills,  some  large 

as  forty  Olympias  in  a  row,  and  cut  off  flat    on  their 

tops;   others  mere  bosoms   of  the   plain,  smooth  and 

gracefully  rounded.     But   the   sage  grew  greener  and 
io8 


HEADQUARTERS  DURING  A  BATTLE  109 

greener,  and  there  was  grass  in  places,  varied  by  occa- 
sional oases  of  little  light-green  trees  surrounding  a 
farmhouse,  or  an  artificial  pond  fed  by  a  Yankee  wind 
pump. 

Field  rats  and  mice,  lizards,  chameleons,  and  an 
occasional  large  bird  scuttled  out  of  sight ;  frequent 
ant-hills,  two  or  three  feet  high  and  half  as  thick, 
dotted  the  veldt  with  their  brick-red  colour,  and 
we  saw  a  few  stately  ostriches,  and  many  herds  of 
goats,  sheep,  and  horses.  Of  human  inhabitants  there 
were  only  tiny  clusters  at  the  far-separated  stations. 
Silence,  desolation,  vastness,  and  colour — these  were 
the  dominant  notes  of  the  region. 

Not  many  weeks  before,  Orange  River  consisted  of 
a  few  railway  buildings,  and  six  or  eight  small  stone 
cottages  roofed  with  corrugated  iron — the  homes  of 
the  railway  people.  It  may  have  had  a  fixed  popula- 
tion of  fifty  souls.  Now  2,650  soldiers  and  half  as 
many  more  servants,  drivers,  transport  hands,  and 
camp  followers  made  the  little  village  swarm  and  hum 
with  life.  The  station  platform  was  crowded  by 
soldiers,  armed  and  in  full  marching  order,  hung  all 
about  with  heavy  weights,  like  hooks  in  a  crowded 
butcher's  shop. 

It  is  indeed  a  marvel  that  Englishmen  can  go  about 
so  buttoned  up,  and  strapped  in,  and  burdened  with 
equipage,  in  the  intense  heat  of  these  latitudes. 

Leaving  the  station  we  saw  tents  pitched  along  one 


no  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

side  of  the  only  street,  and  other  tents  standing  in  the 
humorous  little  front  gardens,  where  plants  and  flowers 
are  kept  in  paraffin  and  biscuit  tins,  as  though  the 
people  expected  to  move  at  short  notice,  and  carry 
their  gardens  with  them. 

The  horses  of  the  officers  were  tethered  to  the  front 
fences,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  street  was  a  group  of 
soldiers  working  a  heliograph — a  mirror,  like  a  shaving- 
glass,  set  up  on  a  tripod,  and  trembling  with  the  deft 
touches  that  one  soldier  gave  to  a  telegraph  key,  the 
while  another  soldier  read  to  him  from  a  sheet  of 
paper. 

Little  did  we  suspect  that,  as  we  watched  that 
mirror,  it  was  communicating  the  orders  of  General 
Wood  to  a  British  force  at  that  moment  entering  into 
an  engagement  with  the  Boers  twenty  miles  away. 

Having  seen  the  town  we  inquired  for  Colonel  Gough, 
and  learned  that  he  was  out  with  a  patrol  across 
the  river,  and  would  return  in  an  hour.  We  knew  that 
earlier  in  the  week  a  small  force  had  been  riding  in  a 
south-easterly  direction  in  the  enemy's  country,  and 
had  returned  quickly  without  an  adventure.  So,  there 
being  nothing  new  in  this  situation,  we  sat  down  to 
await  the  return  of  the  seven  hundred  Lancers  and 
others  who  were  under  Colonel  Gough. 

It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  we  had 
been  smoking  and  chatting  with  new  military  acquaint- 
ances for  an  hour  or  so,  when  we  noticed  a  group  of 


HEADQUARTERS  DURING  A  BATTLE    iii 

Tommies  standing  behind  two  officers,  who  were 
scanning  the  distant  veldt  with  field  glasses.  Going 
into  the  street  to  see  what  they  were  looking  at,  we 
discovered  that  of  the  few  persons  to  be  seen  every 
one  was  facing  and  scanning  the  red-hot  veldt — even 
the  Kaffirs  and  their  women  and  children  being  outside 
their  huts  in  the  foreground,  with  their  palms  up  to 
shield  their  eyes.  Of  soldiers  there  were  not  twenty 
within  sight.  What  did  it  mean  ?  What  had  happened 
to  depopulate  a  swarming  village  in  an  hour  ? 

It  was  the  hostler  to  Captain  Wright,  the  local  cor- 
respondent of  the  Daily  Mail,  who  answered  the  ques- 
tion— perhaps  with  exaggeration,  yet  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  show  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost  by  any  energetic 
man  at  the  scene.  "  We  have  heard  that  the  patrol  is 
cut  off  by  a  large  force  of  Boers,"  said  he,  ''  and  every 
man-jack  in  the  place— field  batteries,  infantry,  and  all 
— has  gone  to  their  relief  in  the  train." 

''  When  did  the  patrol  start  out  ?  " 

"■  Yesterday,  sir.  They're  at  Belmont  now,  twenty 
miles  away.  I  wish  I  was  with  them.  God  send  that 
they'll  give  the  Dutch  what  they're  in  need  of." 

"  Where  is  Major-General  Wood,  to  give  us  permis- 
sion to  hurry  after  the  troops  ?  " 

''  In  the  station,  sir." 

And  there  we  found  him — a  small,  well-knit,  wiry 
man  of  apparently  sixty,  black  haired,  slightly  bald, 
swarthy,  alone  in  the  dining-room,  with  his  sword  and 


112  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

belt  flung  upon  a  table,  a  thousand  flies  inspecting  it, 
his  head  held  down  in  thought,  his  visage  that  of  a 
man  preoccupied  and  anxious. 

"  I'd  rather  you'd  see  Colonel  Money,"  said  he  ; 
"  he  is  acting  commandant  in  Colonel  Gough's  absence." 

In  a  tiny  stone  cottage  with  ''  Staff  Office  "  on  a 
painted  board  before  it,  we  found  Colonel  Money,  of 
the  "  Fighting  Fifth "  (Northumberland  Fusiliers), 
who  have  been  under  canvas  two  years,  and  have  seen 
Gibraltar,  Omdurman,  Crete,  and  Aldershot,  yet  have 
known  the  comforts  of  a  bed  at  night  for  only  two 
weeks  since  1897. 

We  saw  him  in  what  was  somebody's  bedroom  only 
a  few  weeks  before,  sitting  at  a  table  made  of  planks 
laid  upon  wooden  trestles,  and  in  three  minutes  we 
were  trudging  along  the  railway  to  the  river.  The 
fringe  of  bright  green  trees,  like  willows  at  home, 
showed  us  where  it  was,  a  mile  and  a  half  away,  but 
the  route  was  between  hills  on  and  around  all  of  which 
were  white  tents,  or  camps,  upon  the  veldt.  On  one 
hill  a  man  was  wig-wagging  with  flags,  on  another  a 
"  helio  "  was  making  microscopic  lightning  flashes,  on 
another  men  in  khaki  lounged  among  rocks  scarcely 
more  plentiful  than  themselves. 

At  last  the  land  fell  away,  and  a  great  iron  bridge, 
painted  red,  took  the  place  of  the  railway.  When  the 
river  is  swollen  this  great  bridge  is  doubtless  needed 
to  span  it,  but  now  two-thirds  of  its  length  arched  a 


HEADQUARTERS  DURING  A  BATTLE  113 

field  of  dry  caked  mud,  from  which  on  all  sides  sprang 
a  myriad  trees  and  bushes.  A  sentinel  on  foot,  backed 
by  many  men  lounging  near,  demanded  our  passes, 
and  permitted  us  to  continue  across  the  bridge,  once 
but  partially  floored  with  open  trestle  work,  but  now 
covered  with  planks  for  the  passage  of  troops. 

From  its  middle  we  were  able  to  look  up  and  down 
the  historic  Orange  River.  The  water  in  it  was  not 
above  75  feet  wide,  and  looked  very  shallow.  In 
character  it  was  like  the  Missouri  or  Lower  Mississippi, 
bordered  by  a  wide,  dry  bed,  cut  up  by  little  islands 
and  sand-bars,  and  fretted  by  upturned  trees,  snags, 
and  sun-baked  debris.  Far  off  to  the  west  its  banks 
came  closer  together,  and  were  so  clothed  with  green 
that  for  a  moment  we  drank  in  that  view,  and  thought 
of  the  Thames  at  Wargrave. 

At  the  far  end  of  the  red  series  of  trusses  a  corporal 
and  squad  of  men  suddenly  materialised,  and  demanded 
our  passes  very  much  as  if  we  had  not  passed  through 
the  other  end  of  the  bridge,  but  had  been  born  in  the 
middle  of  it,  and  had  stayed  there  till  we  grew  to 
formidable  proportions. 

Before  us,  instead  of  the  veldt,  were  some  consider- 
able hills,  so  stony  as  to  appear  like  huge  heaps  of 
black  boulders,  with  the  shining  metals  of  the  railway 
dodging  between  and  around  them. 

"  Go  up  on  that  hill,"  said  the  corporal,  "  and,  may- 

Tdc,  you  will  see  the  fighting.     I  wish  to  goodness  I 
8 


114  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

was  in  the  middle  of  it,  instead  of  being  stuck  herft 
like  a  cast-off  shoe  !  " 

We  passed  out  of  the  tunnel  of  red  iron  frame-work, 
and  on  both  sides  of  us  were  men  of  the  Fusiliers  and 
the  Munsters,  alert,  rifles  in  hand,  peering  between  the 
rocks  and  bushes,  and  ready  to  give  and  take  the 
sharp  medicine  of  war. 


CHAPTER  XI 

BATTLE   CONDITIONS    ON   THE   VELDT 

The  force  in  the  field  was  simply  a  patrol  of  seven 
hundred  men,  composed  of  Mounted  Infantry  of  the 
Royal  Munster  Fusiliers,  the  Northumberland  Fusi- 
liers, and  the  North  Lancashire  Regiment,  acting  with 
the  9th  Lancers.  These  were  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Gough,  and  had  been  out  in  the  enemy's 
country  thirty  hours  when  news  reached  this  post  that 
they  were  attacking  a  Boer  commando. 

I  crossed  the  Orange  River  and  climbed  the  highest 
kopje,  to  find  that  its  sides  were  covered  with  troops. 
At  the  top  stood  three  officers  and  a  dozen  men,  all 
silent,  all  staring  over  the  veldt  which  lay  stretched 
beneath  and  before  them  five  hundred  feet  below,  fif- 
teen miles  to  some  eastern  hills,  and  interminably 
level  to  the  westward.  They  were  listening  as  well  as 
looking,  hoping  to  hear  the  low  mutter  of  the  guns  of 
the  Boers  answered  by  their  comrades  wherever  they 
might  be. 

The  crest  was  battlemented  by  boulders  as  high  as 
a  man's  breast,  and  all  along  the  top  of  the  wall  were 

115 


ii6  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

dirty  canvas  bags  filled  with  sand.  The  officers  used 
field  glasses.  The  soldiers  strained  their  eyes.  In  a  few 
whispered  words  I  was  made  to  understand  that  Colo- 
nel Gough's  patrol  force  was  supposed  to  be  on  the 
other  side  of  a  pass  plainly  visible  to  the  north-east- 
ward, and  that  the  armoured  train,  and  other  railway 
trains,  had  taken  to  his  relief  practically  all  the  artillery 
and  infantry  that  he  had  left  behind  at  the  post. 

All  on  the  redoubt  were  now  scanning  the  rough 
veldt  and  its  enclosing  hills  for  signs  of  our  own  forces, 
or  of  possible  Boer  commandoes  concentrating  for  an 
attack  on  the  post,  that  is  to  say  the  Orange  River 
bridge,  behind  us. 

The  officer  in  command  of  the  redoubt  was  Major 
Hall,  of  the  Royal  Munster  Fusiliers,  and  a  finer 
picture  of  the  swell,  the  gentleman,  and  the  soldier  I 
have  never  seen.  His  uniform  of  khaki  was  new,  from 
his  helmet  to  the  creaseless  leather  putties  which 
seemed  moulded  to  his  legs. 

It  all  fitted  him  to  perfection,  and  every  star  and 
button  and  buckle  shone  like  fine  jewellery.  His  face 
was  refined,  intellectual,  masterful,  and  his  every 
movement,  graceful  to  a  degree,  showed  him  as  much 
at  his  ease  on  that  redoubt  as  in  a  West-end  drawing 
room  at  home.  Indeed,  with  his  moustachios  up- 
turned at  the  ends,  and  his  face  and  hands  browned 
but  daintily  cared  for,  he  might  have  been  carried  to 
London   on  a  magic  carpet,  manifesting  there  as  he 


BATTLE  CONDITIONS  ON  THE  VELDT  117 

did  in  war,  "the  glass  of  fashion  and  the  mould  of 
form." 

Now  he  leaned  on  the  parapet,  now  he  sat  upon  it, 
now  he  slid  over  it  and  leaned  his  back  against  it,  but 
all  the  time  he  scanned  the  field  or  received  or  sent 
despatches  through  an  urchin-faced  orderly  of  seven- 
teen, who  was  himself  a  keen  soldier  to  the  core. 

The  officers  with  the  major  were  but  a  trifle  less 
spick  and  span  than  their  chief.  The  soldiers  were 
what  one  would  expect  who  knows  the  dust  they  had 
marched  through,  the  rocks  they  had  lain  among — the 
exigencies  of  their  routine  of  living  sixteen  in  one  tent. 

Sweeping  the  field  with  my  glasses  I  discovered — 
only  by  intense  concentration  —  that  a  distant  hill 
was  crowded  with  our  men  in  khaki,  and  first  saw  such 
of  their  horses  as  were  white  or  extra  dark.  Their 
cannon — three  of  which  were  with  them  and  painted 
light  brown — were  not  visible,  so  wonderfully  does  the 
khaki  colour  merge  into  the  tints  of  the  sun-browned 
veldt. 

While  I  ranged  the  valley  or  plain  with  my  glasses 
something  slipped  and  stumbled  heavily  over  the 
loose  stones  behind  me.  I  turned,  thinking  to  dodge 
or  help  a  stumbling  man,  and  found  myself  staring 
into  the  great  brown  eyes  of  an  ostrich  6  ft.  tall,  and 
with  legs  almost  as  thick  as,  and  longer  than,  my 
own. 

"  He  came  up  here  some  days  ago,"  said  a  soldier, 


Ii8  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"  and  he  always  stays  here  now.  We  feed  him  and 
fool  with  him,  and  he  seems  very  happy." 

The  ostrich  stalked  past  me,  and  took  a  position  be- 
tween the  major  and  the  captain,  where,  after  appear- 
ing to  observe  that  they  were  very  busy  scanning  the 
landscape,  he  too  stared  at  the  plain,  and  remained 
erect  and  watchful,  the  highest  typification  of  a  sentry 
in  appearance.  He  marred  this  fine  effect  for  just  a 
moment  by  seizing  and  swallowing  a  box  of  safety 
matches.  After  that  he  continued  his  sentry  duty 
with  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  in  his  eyes. 

We  saw  but  little  to  reward  us,  and  nothing  to  put 
us  more  upon  our  guard,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible, 
than  at  the  beginning.  What  most  interested  me 
were  the  phenomena  and  illusions  which  are  begotten 
by  the  atmosphere  here  upon  the  veldt  where  this  war 
is  to  be  fought  out. 

Thus,  every  now  and  then  a  great  cloud  of  whitish 
dust  would  breed  upon  the  surface  of  the  plain,  and 
send  a  streaming  tail  of  what  looked  like  vapour  turn- 
ing in  a  funnel-formed  cloud  toward  the  sky,  or  reach- 
ing far  away  in  the  wind.  These  sudden  apparitions 
attracted  close  scrutiny,  but  in  every  instance  they 
proved  to  be  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  moving  flocks  of 
sheep. 

Again  the  form  of  a  swift  riding  horseman  would 
appear  afar,  and  seem  to  dart  along  the  veldt.  It  was 
sure  to  be  in  truth  an    ostrich  stalking  with  stately 


BATTLE  CONDITIONS  ON  THE  VELDT   119 

slowness.  And  the  reverse  of  this  was  equally  true, 
for  a  man  in  black  clothing  mounted  on  a  grey  horse 
had  all  the  appearance  of  a  supernatural  bird.  The 
rider's  body  cut  the  horse's  form  across,  leaving  two 
whitish  ends  visible,  and  when  the  horse  galloped 
these  parts  of  the  animal  rose  and  fell  like  wings. 

The  surface  of  the  veldt  looked  level,  yet  it  was  so 
far  from  that  as  to  cause  a  body  of  our  troops  at  one 
time,  and  at  another  time  a  railway  train,  to  disappear 
suddenly,  though  the  surface  seemed  flat  all  around 
them.  They  vanished  at  a  few  miles'  distance,  and 
though  we  imagined  ourselves  able  to  look  down  upon 
the  whole  plain,  their  further  progress  entirely  was 
hidden  from  our  view. 

Night  began  to  fall,  and  we  returned  to  the  town. 
The  trains  presently  came  back  with  the  men.  From 
the  first  one  was  lifted  the  body  of  Lieut.-Colonel 
Keith  Falconer,  and  then  the  dying  form  of  Captain 
Wood.  Four  more  wounded  men — two  privates  and 
two  officers — were  in  the  throng,  and  a  hush  fell  upon 
the  post.  Thus  we  had  our  first  taste  of  war  on  this 
side  of  the  enemy's  country,  our  first  sight  of  the 
shedding  of  heroic  blood.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  we 
found  that  the  Boers  were  indulging  in  illicit,  savage 
warfare,  singling  out  officers  in  order  to  cripple  us. 

''They  will  not  play  the  game  fairly,"  said  a  soldier, 
when  the  news  came  in  that  three  officers  and  only 
two  privates  were  shot. 


I20  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

In  the  camp  during  the  next  day  much  that  was 
interesting  was  said  about  the  means  which  must  be 
taken  to  give  our  officers  a  reasonable  measure  of  pro- 
tection. Look  at  any  reproduction  of  a  photograph 
of  British  officers  in  khaki  uniform  which  has  been 
published  in  the  London  weeklies,  and  you  will  see 
that  their  buttons,  and  golden  insignia  of  rank,  gleam 
like  diamonds  against  their  uniforms.  As  you  see 
them  in  the  pictures,  the  Boers  see  them  in  the  blazing 
sunshine  on  the  veldt. 

"  Tommy  "  has  but  few  such  points  of  metal,  and 
these  he  is  forbidden  to  polish.  He  must  keep  them 
dim.  He  must  paint  the  sheath  of  his  bayonet  brown, 
and  he  may  not  even  polish  his  boots.  His  rifle  is 
his  protection,  just  as  the  absence  of  a  rifle  marks  an 
officer  before  the  enemy. 

It  came  under  discussion  to  have  all  officers  who 
march  with  their  men  provided  with  light  carbines. 
In  that  case  the  swords,  whose  silver  handles  now 
gleam  like  electric  lights  on  the  field  of  battle,  would 
be  discarded,  and  so  would  the  coloured  collar  bands 
and  shoulder  ornaments,  which  make  such  shining 
marks.  Matters  of  this  sort  the  Boer  does  not  have 
to  consider.  He  fights  behind  rocks,  and  except  in 
the  case  of  his  blue-clad  artillery  he  fights  in  his  civi- 
lian dress. 

The  engagement  near  Belmont  on  November  loth 
was  but  a   trifling  skirmish,   and   will  only  figure  in 


BATTLE  CONDITIONS  ON  THE  VELDT  121 

history  as  the  first  collision  of  opposing  troops  on  this 
side  of  the  Dutch  Republics.  The  purpose  of  the 
patrol  was  to  discover  the  whereabouts  and  strength 
of  the  enemy  in  the  region  where  they  long  ago  blew 
up  the  railway.  This  was  accomplished  with  blood- 
shed, only  because  the  Boers  disclosed  their  retreat  by 
attacking  our  force. 


CHAPTER  XII 

DUST    AND   KHAKI 

It  sounds  gruesome  to  liken  the  sending  out  of  an 
army  to  the  return  of  "  dust  to  dust/*  and  yet  if  the 
reader  could  see  an  army,  or  any  number  of  soldiers, 
in  khaki  out  on  the  veldt,  he  would  at  once  think  of 
the  simile. 

South  Africa  looks  as  if  it  were  the  dustbin  of 
creation.  Its  ground  is  loose  dust.  Its  air  is  flying 
dust.  Its  vegetation,  animals,  and  insects  nearly  all 
take  differing  shades  of  dust  colour. 

On  November  14th  in  the  train  from  De  Aar  to 
Orange  River  I  passed  five  miles  of  transports 
bringing  up  forage,  food,  and  ammunition  for  Lord 
Methuen'  s  advance  column  of  ten  thousand  men — 
which  it  was  hoped  would  sweep  its  way  to  the  relief 
of  Kimberley  like  a  witch's  broom. 

All  these  waggons,  mules,  and  negroes  raised  one 

long,  high,  dense  cloud  of  reddish-brown  dust,  through 

which  we  saw  the  canvas  that  covered  the  carts,  the 

black  faces  of  the  natives,  and  such  of  the  horses  as  were 

white  or  black.     The  waggons,  which  are  all  painted 
122 


DUST  AND  KHAKI  123 

dust-colour,  were  lost  to  sight,  and  the  half  battalion 
of  troops  guarding  the  host  we  could  not  distinguish 
at  all  until  we  were  almost  beside  them. 

Like  all  the  troops  we  have  in  the  field,  they  be- 
gan in  uniforms  of  dirt-colour,  and  are  constantly  get- 
ting dirtier  and  dirtier.  This  does  not  sound  like  a 
proud  or  a  pretty  thing  to  say  of  her  Majesty's  valor- 
ous soldiers,  but  it  is  true ;  it  is  so  ordered,  and  it  is 
good. 

We  were  all  getting  dirtier  and  dirtier — inside  and 
out.  We  breathed  dust,  drank  dust,  and  ate  dust. 
Very  often  we  are  out  of  sorts,  because  our  internal 
arrangements  suffer,  and  rebel  against  this  new  order 
of  things ;  but  the  dust  persists,  our  systems  bow  to 
it,  and  we  go  ahead  fitter  than  before. 

Some  of  the  natives,  I  believe,  live  on  certain  kinds 
of  dirt,  and  have  no  bother  about  cooking  and  killing, 
and  mowing  and  reaping.  Perhaps  if  this  war  lasts 
long  enough  we  shall  simplify  our  affairs  in  the  same 
way,  for  we  are  making  great  strides  in  that  direction. 

I  sat  in  my  dusty  tent  with  my  boots  buried  in  dust, 
writing  with  a  solution  of  dust  by  means  of  a  dusty 
brown  pen,  and  every  line  was  dusted  and  dried  as 
soon  as  written — as  our  grandfathers  dried  their  manu- 
script with  sand. 

A  dust-coloured  cat  strayed  out  on  the  veldt,  and 
was  watching  a  hole  in  the  dust  in  order  to  catch  a 
dust-coloured  mouse.     The  air  outside  was  as   full  of 


124  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

dust  as  your  air  in  London  is  of  smoke.  The  heat 
was  intense,  and  all  our  throats  were  dry  and  caked 
with  dust  ;  yet,  to  relieve  our  thirst,  we  must  drink 
Orange  River  water — which  is  so  full  of  mud  that  when 
a  servant  pours  it  in  the  basin,  we  think  he  must  have 
washed  his  own  hands  in  it  first,  without  our  having 
seen  him  do  so. 

This  bit  of  descriptive  comment  on  the  field  of  war 
could  be  carried  on  indefinitely,  to  point  the  moral  of 
the  moment — which  is  the  wonderful  aptness  and  value 
of  khaki  for  military  uniforms  in  South  Africa. 

When  we  saw  a  little  of  it  faring  towards  the  Queen 
at  St.  Paul's  on  Diamond  Jubilee  Day  we  thought  it 
very  tidy  and  refreshing,  mixed  in  with  all  the  red  and 
gold.  It  seems  to  have  been  only  the  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  American  army  who  realised  its  practical 
value,  for  he  went  home  and  dressed  his  soldiers  in  it, 
ready  for  the  war  with  Spain.  But  when  one  sees  the 
British  Army  here,  in  this  dust-coloured  canvas,  one 
quickly  realises  that  it  ranks  high  among  the  advan- 
tages we  possess  over  the  Boers. 

At  distances  where  red  or  blue  or  black  would  be 
striking,  khaki  is  not  seen  at  all.  It  blends  our  men 
with  the  landscape  so  completely  that  in  bright  day- 
light, at  short  distances  from  the  enemy,  our  forces 
almost  gain  the  advantage  of  an  army  manoeuvring  at 
night. 

We  encouraged  the  men  to  allow  their  buttons  to 


DUST  AND  KHAKI  125 

dull.  We  ordered  them  to  paint  their  bayonet  sheaths 
dust  colour.  Their  kit-bags  and  water-bottles  and  all 
their  belongings  were  khaki-coloured  or  matching  it. 
Our  big  guns  were  painted  like  the  ruddy  earth,  and 
our  Maxims  were  wrapped  in  canvas  great-coats  of  the 
universal  hue.  Our  gun-carriages,  limbers,  great  mule 
waggons,  and  small  carts  were  all  the  same  colour,  and 
the  water-tanks  we  dragged  after  the  troops  were  indis- 
tinguishable from  our  other  belongings. 

We  were  within  two  or  three  days  of  beginning  our 
start,  and  the  regiments  who  were  to  swell  our  force 
were  being  rushed  to  us  from  England  and  the  Cape. 
What  will  they  find  their  brothers  in  arms  doing — 
these  stalwart  veterans  who  look  so  smart  and  dandi- 
fied when  we  see  them  in  Chelsea,  or  the  barracks 
near  Buckingham  Palace  ?  They  will  find  them  cloth- 
ing themselves  with  dust  and  mud — nothing  more  or 
less. 

Men  might  be  seen  dissolving  mud  in  their  pails, 
and  dipping  brushes  in  it  to  paint  their  white  straps 
mud-colour.  Every  pouch  and  strap  and  cloth-covered 
water-bottle  that  would  show  white  or  dark  underwent 
this  treatment.  And  the  drummers  did  the  same  with 
their  drums — painting  the  white  tightening  cords  with 
mud,  muddying  over  the  golden  lions  and  unicorns 
and  the  gaudy  regimental  mottoes,  so  that  everything 
should  look  like  the  veldt — so  that  we  should  be  as 
dusty  as  our  surroundings. 


126  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

When  the  heroines  of  the  Arabian  Nights*  tales 
watched  from  their  palace  roofs  to  see  the  clouds  of 
dust  that  announced  the  coming  of  their  husbands  and 
lovers,  they  knew  that  out  of  those  clouds  would 
emerge  figures  in  gaudy  silks,  or  lustrous  gold  and 
silver.  But  here  on  the  veldt,  if  the  hapless  heroines 
in  Kimberley  and  Mafeking  were  watching  for  us  who 
were  in  Lord  Methuen's  flying  force,  it  would  be  dif- 
ferent. They  would  see  the  dust  separate  from  the 
moving  body  beneath  it,  but  what  that  body  was  their 
best  glasses  could  not  have  told  them  until  it  was 
within  a  mile  or  two. 

It  might  be  no  more  than  a  troop  of  dust-coloured 
sheep  moving  in  enormous  bands  upon  the  scorched 
veldt ;  it  might  be  only  a  line  of  dust-hued  farm  wag- 
gons, or,  if  they  were  not  mistaken,  and  looked  at  just 
the  right  time,  lo !  a  dust-coated  general  and  his  staff, 
leading  a  myriad  armed  men,  clothed  and  stained  to 
match  the  colour  of  the  ground. 

While  Tommy  was  thus  wholly  dull  and  dusty  in 
tone,  his  ofHcers  differed  from  him,  wearing  shiny  but- 
tons, stars,  crowns,  and  sword-hilts,  and  pipe-clayed 
belts  and  straps.  In  this  difference  has  lain  the  danger 
of  all  in  battle  in  this  campaign,  and  from  it  has  come 
the  death  of  far  too  many.  All  alike  recognise  this, 
yet  how  differently  they  discuss  the  proposal  that  offi- 
cers should  dress  like  the  men. 

The  Tommies   were  all  in  favour  of  the  change, 


DUST  AND  KHAKI  127 

though  it  would  greatly  increase  their  own  danger 
and  losses.  They  were  enthusiastic  for  having  the 
officers  doff  swords,  carry  light  carbines,  and  do  away 
with  their  ornaments.  They  discussed  the  mortality 
above  the  ranks  with  bated  breath,  as  a  thing  alto- 
gether awful ;  and  after  one  skirmish,  where  an  officer 
was  killed  and  two  were  wounded,  I  did  not  hear  a 
Tommy  speak  of  the  two  privates  who  died  at  the 
same  time.  Among  officers  the  subject  was  differently 
treated.  Some  discussed  the  prospect  of  disguising 
themselves  as  if  it  were  a  thing  to  be  considered  only 
for  the  sake  of  deceiving  an  unfair  foe,  and  gaining  a 
point  that  way.  Others  indignantly  spurned  the  idea 
as  undignified  and  unworthy. 

As  brave  a  man  as  any  is  Major  Rimington,  head  of 
the  Imperial  Corps  of  Guides. 

"  You  may  be  sure,"  he  said,  "  that  the  Boers  will 
never  know  which  are  the  officers  and  which  the  men 
in  my  troop.  They'll  all  seem  as  like  as  so  many 
peas." 

He  might  better  have  said  "  as  so  many  walnuts," 
for  these  guides — scouts  in  reality — were  more  like 
the  veldt  than  are  the  red  ant-hills  which  dot  it  all 
over.  They  were  the  most  picturesque  body  in  Lord 
Methuen's  advance  column — two  hundred  of  them — 
all  rough-riders  and  all  beautifully  mounted.  Each 
man  was  obliged  to  speak  Boer  or  Kaffir,  and  many 
speak  both.     Everyone  must   be  thoroughly  well  ac- 


128  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

quainted  with  some  part  of  the  country  around  and 
before  us.  All  carried  carbines  and  pistols,  and  round 
each  man's  dust-brown  slouch  hat  was  bound  a  strip 
of  striped  fur,  like  the  raccoon  skin  of  the  early  Ameri- 
can trappers  and  later  Texan  rangers. 

These  men  had  been  scouring  the  country  literally 
for  hundreds  of  square  miles  day  and  night  while  on 
duty  at  De  Aar.  Their  pay  is  S^u  a  day.  The  people 
of  the  region  called  them  the  "  night  cats,"  and  their 
leader  called  them  his  **  catch-em-alive-os."  Two  were 
Americans  fresh  from  the  Klondike,  and  their  troop 
doctor  was  an  American  named  Lindley,  well  known 
all  over  South  Africa.  The  rest  were  all  Afrikanders 
of  English  descent.  Many  had  left  the  Transvaal  and 
the  Free  State  to  side  with  the  British.  They  liked 
their  hard  life,  but  prayed  to  be  included  in  the  fight- 
ing. 

In  their  troop  the  officers  were  as  dusty  as  the  men, 
and  therefore  they  best  of  all  typified  the  dusty  army 
that  was  to  blend  itself  with  the  dusty  veldt,  except 
when  its  rifles  and  guns  vomited  the  flames  of  battle. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

BATTLE     OF    BELMONT 

It  was  on  the  southern  and  western  sides  of  the 
Orange  Free  State  that  offensive  warfare  was  begun 
by  the  British. 

Like  a  tiger  stalking  its  prey  by  night,  in  almost 
absolute  silence,  Lord  Methuen's  splendid  flying  col- 
umn of  nearly  ten  thousand  men  started  from  Belmont 
Farm  at  half-past  three  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd 
of  November.  The  moonlight  fell  softened  through 
fleecy  clouds,  and  the  battalions,  marching  in  a  long, 
narrow  queue,  hugged  the  nearer  hills  so  as  to  be  hid- 
den in  their  shadow. 

The  army  knew  that  the  Boers  held  the  greater 
range,  which  ran  north  and  south  to  form  the  easterly 
wall  of  the  four  which  enclose  a  noble  but  desolate 
valley. 

Like  a  colossal  centipede  with  twenty  thousand  legs, 

the  column    moved   along   the   shadow   of  the   more 

friendly  hills,  crawling  a  few  score  yards,  then  halting, 

then   crawling  a  little  farther.     At  each   halt   all  the 

officers  and  men  sank  upon  one  knee.     The  orders  to 
9  129 


I30  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

march,  to  halt,  to  kneel,  and  to  rise  were  given  by 
movements  of  the  hands  of  the  commanders,  no  word 
being  spoken. 

Here  and  there  a  few  men  whispered  now  and  then, 
but  the  light  breeze  which  sifted  through  the  wild 
sage  of  the  veldt  was  louder  than  these  hushed  voices. 
Once,  when  we  were  leaving  the  hill  shadows  and 
crossing  the  corner  of  the  valley  to  crouch  for  the 
deadly  spring  upon  our  foe,  we  came  to  a  rocky  patch, 
and  our  guns  and  ammunition  waggons  jolted  and 
creaked  among  the  obstacles,  making  our  only  noise, 
yet  one  which  we  felt  the  Boers  must  hear.  The  faint 
flush  in  the  sky  at  the  end  of  the  Boer  position  told 
us  that  very  soon  they  would  also  see  us. 

And  now  a  golden  rim  was  pushed  above  the  farthest 
kopje ;  the  wind-rumpled  clouds  that  reached  half 
across  the  plain  took  on  the  hue  of  blood — the  look  of 
curdled  blood.  The  strange  little  birds  called  ''  dik- 
kopfs,"  or  thickheads,  so  abundant  here,  began  their 
work  of  shooting  up  from  the  veldt  twenty  feet,  and 
crying  ''Hui!"  and  dropping  back  again  upon  the 
ground.  "  Hui  !  hui !  "  sounded  ever  so  sadly  all  over 
the  parched  desert,  so  soon  to  quaff  the  blood  of  hun- 
dreds. 

At  that  moment  we  saw  our  valiant  British  moving 
in  thin  lines  nearly  two  miles  long.  They  looked  like 
sportsmen  stalking  game,  as  each  held  his  rifle  ready 
in  both  hands,  and  all  crouched  as  they  strode  along 


BATTLE  OF  BELMONT  131 

with  frequent  baitings.  At  that  moment  too  there 
ran  along  the  crest  of  the  great  southern  kopje  quick, 
vivid  jets  of  fire,  like  jewels  flashing  in  a  coronet  on 
the  hills'  brow.  It  was  the  flame  of  a  volley  from  the 
Boers  fired  at  the  nearest  British  ! 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  fearful  fight,  one  of  the 
severest  that  even  English  soldiers  have  ever  faced. 
It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Grenadier  Guards  to  storm 
that  particular  hill.  They  saw  the  rim  of  fire  beads 
flash  along  the  crest,  and  die  away,  and  race  along  the 
crest  again,  as  tiny  gas  jets  blow  out  and  re-ignite  in 
heavy  wind.  But  it  was  what  they  felt — a  deadly  hail 
of  bullets — that  tried  them,  without  finding  them 
wanting.  For  protection  and  retort  they  could  only 
shoot  almost  straight  above  their  heads,  without  ever 
seeing  their  foe  hidden  behind  the  topmost  boulders. 

They  were  advancing  in  too  close  formation,  giving 
the  bullets  but  little  chance  to  miss  the  aggregate 
mass.  Mown  down  as  grass  before  a  scythe,  still  they 
climbed  up  and  onward,  never  dreaming  of  another 
course.  Some  men  of  the  Northamptonshire  Regi- 
ment dashed  up  after  them,  and,  all  together,  they 
drove  the  Boers  from  that  fastness,  and  saw  them 
leaping  down  the  further  side  of  the  hill,  and  across  a 
little  valley  to  the  heights  beyond. 

The  Grenadiers,  out  of  but  a  part  of  the  battalion, 
lost  something  like  120  men  in  a  few  minutes.  But 
almost  as  severe  work  was  done  by  their  comrades  in 


132  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

arms,  by  the  Scots  Guards,  the  Northamptonshires, 
the  Northumberland  Fusiliers,  and  the  King's  Own 
Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  in  different  parts  of  the 
field.  The  Northumberlands  tackled  a  Boer  position 
next  in  strength  to  that  stormed  by  the  Grenadiers, 
and  also  lost  heavily. 

The  battle  opened  at  about  4.20  a.m.,  and  it  was  pre- 
cisely three  hours  later  that  a  volley  of  British  cheers 
proclaimed  the  capture  of  the  last  of  the  strongly-for- 
tified hills.  The  artillery  and  naval  guns,  which  had 
not  been  brought  into  action  until  five  o'clock,  silenced 
the  last  of  two  Boer  batteries  at  the  moment  of  this 
cheering. 

After  that  the  Boers  ran  down  from  the  hills  like 
flowing  water,  and  took  up  new  positions  on  some 
lower  land  behind.  Fierce  attacks,  notably  by  the 
Yorkshires,  Northumberlands,  and  Northamptons, 
quickly  made  the  new  positions  untenable,  and  the 
rest  of  that  day's  drama  revealed  the  rapid  flight  of 
the  Boers  over  the  open  veldt,  and  the  ineffectual  pur- 
suit of  them  by  the  9th  Lancers. 

During  this  engagement  the  Boers  fought  their  own 
style  of  battle  obstinately  and  with  courage.  But — 
and  it  seems  there  must  always  be  a  "  but  "  when  one 
endeavours  to  give  credit  generously  to  this  foe — they 
marred  the  day  most  shockingly. 

In  two  places  they  displayed  flags  of  truce  in  order 
to  bring  the  British  out  of  cover,  and  then  shoot  them 


BATTLE  OF  BELMONT  133 

down.  In  one  case,  where  the  famous  correspondent, 
E.  F.  Knight,  was  wounded,  everyone  of  the  offenders 
was  killed.  In  the  other  the  man  who  tied  his  hand- 
kerchief to  his  rifle  was  subsequently  taken  prisoner. 
Besides  this  treachery,  twelve  of  our  men  were  shot 
with  dum-dum  bullets. 

I  went  upon  the  field  with  the  King's  Own  York- 
shire Light  Infantry,  and  a  description  of  the  manner 
in  which  they  went  into  action  will\erve  as  illustrating 
the  course  pursued  by  all  the  forces  except  the  Naval 
Brigade.  The'  privates  were,  as  already  described, 
with  dulled  buttons,  muddied  straps  and  belts  and 
pouches,  and  with  the  handles  and  scabbards  of  their 
bayonets  painted  khaki  colour. 

On  this  eventful  morning,  for  the  first  time  in  their 
lives,  perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  British  history,  the 
ofificers  threw  aside  their  swords  and  put  on  the  accou- 
trements of  privates,  even  to  their  rifles.  Thus  I  saw 
Colonel  Barter,  of  the  Yorkshires,  stride  off  with  his 
battalion,  and  thus  he  led  them  into  the  hell's  rain  of 
lead,  obeying  the  letter  of  the  new  regulation  by  an 
attempt  at  disguise,  which  took  no  note  of  his  towering 
and  athletic  figure,  or  his  natural  pose  and  carriage  of 
command.  Thus  dressed  I  also  saw  the  gallant  com- 
mander of  the  Grenadier  Guards  lying  in  the  broiling 
sun,  propped  against  a  rock,  wounded — and  telling  the 
ambulance  men  to  look  after  his  gashed  and  blood- 
stained men  who  lay  around  him  among  the  rocks. 


134  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

Let  it  be  remembered  in  all  accounts  of  battles  in  this 
war  that,  if  Tommy  has  the  hottest  sort  of  work,  he 
does  it  side  by  side  with  his  officers.  Such  is  the  tra- 
ditional Anglo-Saxon  way. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

BOERS  IN  WAR 

After  the  Belmont  battle  I  walked  over  the  entire 
field,  and  between  what  I  saw,  and  what  was  told  me 
by  our  officers  and  men  who  had  taken  part  in  the  as- 
sault, I  learned  more  about  the  Boers  as  fighting  men 
than  I  had  been  able  to  gather  all  over  the  Cape  Colony 
in  the  preceding  four  weeks. 

A  kopje  in  this  country  is  practically  a  pile  of  boul- 
ders— a  stone  heap.  It  may  be  either  a  hill  or  a  small 
mountain — fifty  feet  or  one  thousand  five  hundred 
feet  in  height,  though  in  the  battlefields  where  we 
had  thus  far  fought  the  kopjes  had  not  been  above 
five  hundred,  or  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet. 

All  were  heaps  of  loose  boulders,  and  the  practice  of 
the  enemy  was  to  lift  and  carry  the  smaller  rocks  about, 
so  as  to  build  breastworks  of  them. 

Behind  these,  always  built  around  the  tops  of  the 
hills,  the  Boers  hide  and  shoot. 

Let  me  describe  the  top  of  one  small  hill  in  the  Bel- 

135 


136  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

mont  engagement,  the  one  in  storming  which  the 
brave  Grenadiers  suffered  part  of  their  fearfully  heavy- 
loss.  All  around  the  edge  of  its  crest  were  circular  or 
semi-circular  breastworks  of  rocks.  They  were  so 
many  forts — one  for  each  fighting  man.  Placed  high 
in  air,  and  overlooking  a  great  valley,  they  were  very 
like  the  lofty  eyries  of  birds  of  prey.  To  look  into 
them,  with  their  rude  bedding,  scattered  food,  and 
general  debris,  was  as  if  one  viewed  the  nests  of  so 
many  hawks. 

On  this  kopje  the  Boer  commander  had  compelled 
the  poorer  men  of  his  commando  to  live  for  weeks. 
I  took  it  that  these  were  men  of  the  servant  and  the 
labourer  class.  Their  dead,  whose  untidy  and  neglected 
bodies  I  saw  seated  as  the  British  bullets  and  bayonets 
found  them,  confirmed  this  theory,  for  they  were 
poorly  clad,  unshaven,  unclean,  and  hungry-looking. 
They  were  of  that  class  of  Boer  whom  James  Bryce 
describes  as  having  started  at  a  seventeenth-century 
standard,  and  deteriorated  for  three  hundred  years.  I 
knew  when  I  saw  such  men  among  the  dead,  the 
wounded,  and  the  prisoners,  how  it  could  be  that  white 
men  could  misuse  the  white  flag,  and  mock  the  sacred 
purpose  of  the  Geneva  Cross. 

In  nearly  every  eyrie  where  men  had  been  compelled 
to  stay  and  live  there  was  a  tea-kettle,  an  extra  coat  for 
night  covering,  a  sack  in  which  food  and  clothes  had 
been  brought,  and  which  next  had  served  as  a  pallet ; 


BOERS  IN  WAR  137 

some  mealies,  unleavened  biscuits  or  bread-cakes,  junks 
of  biltong  or  jerked  meat,  and  a  kitchen  knife. 

The  food,  the  dirt,  and  the  extraordinary  profusion 
of  cartridges  and  cartridge-wrappings  were  all  mixed 
together,  but  the  dirt  and  the  disorder  were  not  so 
offensive  as  the  grimy  and  revolting  condition  of  the 
dead. 

A  few  commanding  breastworks  had  been  built  as 
for  a  citadel  on  the  crest  of  the  kopje  above  the  ring 
of  eyries. 

In  one  of  these  I  found  a  young  Boer  dead,  with  a 
bullet  hole  in  his  forehead.  He  was  of  a  superior  type, 
intelligent  of  face,  neatly  dressed,  and  had  been 
shooting  with  gloves  on  his  hands.  Had  he  lived  to 
escape  he  would  have  been  one  of  the  very  great  many 
Boers  who  were  seen  flying  down  the  farther  side  of 
the  range  of  kopjes,  and  leaping  upon  their  horses  or 
into  their  Cape  carts  and  "  spiders."  They  had  done 
what  damage  they  could  to  us,  and  as  soon  as 
their  own  lives  were  endangered,  they  commanded 
their  subordinates  to  remain,  and  sought  their  own 
safety. 

These  are  Boer  principles — in  keeping  with  the 
etiquette  and  conventions  of  a  people  who  know 
neither  the  customs  nor  courtesies  of  war.  It  is  not 
by  guesswork  that  I  thus  describe  their  methods.  It 
is  what  our  prisoners  have  told  me. 

It  would  take  long  to  exhaust  the  list  of  peculiarities, 


138  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

eccentricities,  anomalies,  and  novelties  of  this  war, 
waged  against  us  by  an  undisciplined  force  of  rebels,  who 
are  soldiers  by  instinct,  slayers  by  training,  and  farmers 
or  cattle-raisers  for  livelihood.  But  more  astonishing 
is  the  fact  that  some  of  the  better-class  Boers  have 
come  to  battle  in  their  carriages,  like  gentlemen  driving 
to  the  Derby  at  home,  and,  having  done  their  best, 
have  retired  in  the  same  way,  leaving  their  vassals  to 
cover  their  retreat. 

More  numerous  than  those  who  come  in  carriages  to 
battle  are  those  who  send  their  best  horses  ahead,  and 
ride  to  the  front  on  inferior  animals.  They  ''  knee- 
halter  "  their  best  horses,  turn  out  upon  the  veldt  the 
poorer  ones  they  have  ridden,  and — when  retreat  is 
ordered — run  down  the  kopjes  and  mount  their  fast 
steeds  in  order  to  be  able  to  elude  a  cavalry  chase, 
which  had  thus  far  been  impossible  because  the  horses 
of  our  few  mounted  men  had  either  had  too  much 
work  earlier  in  the  day,  or  were  overwhelmed  by  fire 
from  unexpected  quarters. 

I  heard  that  the  only  uniforms  in  the  Boer  ranks 
were  those  of  the  Transvaal  Artillery,  but  if  this  was 
true,  I  had  not  yet  seen  them.  All  whom  I  had  seen 
were  clad  like  the  farmers  and  villagers  we  met  with 
along  our  line  of  march.  They  wore  short  coats, 
trousers  of  patterns  that  are  often  so  loud  that  they 
almost  scream,  and  narrow-brimmed  soft  hats  of  light- 
brown  felt. 


BOERS  IN  WAR  139 

The  prisoners  whom  we  captured  seemed  a  sullen, 
unprepossessing  lot,  asking  no  favours,  and  taking 
kindnesses  very  callously.  Most  of  them  pretended 
to  understand  no  English,  though  I  am  assured  that 
there  are  no  Free  State  Boers  who  do  not  habitually 
speak  English  with  the  English,  and  Dutch  among 
themselves. 

With  the  far  greater  number  of  men  who  delivered 
themselves  to  us,  or  deliberately  put  themselves  in  the 
way  of  capture,  the  case  was  different. 

They  were  of  English  or  partly  British  blood,  held 
their  heads  up,  displayed  bright  eyes  and  frank  faces, 
and  said  bluntly  that  they  had  not  believed  in  the  war, 
or  taken  part  in  it  except  under  compulsion.  They 
told  us  that  no  notice  was  given  them  ;  that  the  com- 
manders or  field  cornets  rode  up  to  their  houses,  and 
ordered  them  to  fall  in  and  follow  at  once.  The 
legalised  penalty  for  refusal  was  death.  To  compare 
these  men  with  the  miscreant  we  captured  after  he 
had  ensnared  some  of  our  men  with  a  false  flag  of 
truce  would  be  like  comparing  cultivation  with  bar- 
barism— a  Londoner  with  a  cave-dweller.  This  scoun- 
drel wore  stiff,  bristling  hair  all  round  a  face  whose 
features  were  those  of  a  primitive  man. 

In  their  kopjes  at  Belmont  the  ground  was  littered 
with  cartridges,  every  one  of  which  bore  the  mark  of 
the  leading  London  makers.  This  was  true  of  every- 
thing else  that  was  captured,  or  left  behind  by  these 


I40  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"  Orange  Free  Staters  "  ;  everything  of  theirs  bore 
English  marks.  It  was  not  until  we  met  with  a 
Transvaal  commando  at  the  battle  of  Graspan  (other- 
wise called  Enslin  and  Royslaagte)  that  we  saw  any 
exception  to  this  rule. 


CHAPTER  XV 

BATTLE   OF   GRASPAN 

The  battle  of  Belmont,  with  which  Lord  Methuen 
opened  the  ball  on  his  side  of  the  Republics,  was 
almost  wholly  an  infantry  fight,  but  that  at  Graspan 
was  rather  more  an  artillery  duel ;  in  fact,  the  artillery 
came  into  greater  play  and  prominence  as  the  battles 
succeeded  one  another. 

Although  the  British  infantry  had  borne  brave  part 
and  suffered  considerable  losses,  the  last  two  victories 
had  been  greatly  accelerated  by  cannon,  and  the  next 
one  was  to  see  our  batteries  more  conspicuous  still. 
The  nature  of  the  Boer  defences,  and  the  Boer  dread 
of  artillery,  have  brought  this  about. 

The  battle  of  Graspan  was  called  *'  Enslin  "  officiall}' 
by  the  army,  and  Royslaagte  by  the  Boers,  but  the 
word  "  Graspan  "  was  painted  on  the  railway  station 
signboard  beside  the  position  occupied  by  our  left,  and 
so  strongly  had  the  name  taken  root  that  no  other 
need  be  used  in  treating  of  that  fight. 

The  Boers  fortified   themselves   on  a  series  of  low 

steep  hills,  broken  at  the  left  by  a  long,  grassy  ridge, 

141 


142  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

which  linked  a  smaller  stony  kopje  to  the  larger  ones. 
On  this  smaller  kopje  a  Transvaal  commando  fought 
with  German  ammunition — the  first  Transvaalers  and 
the  first  foreign  ammunition  used  against  us.  Before 
the  battle  opened  some  of  us  saw  Boers  as  thick  as  ants 
on  a  grassy  ridge,  moving  over  to  the  larger  kopjes. 

It  was  at  about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
26th  that  fire  was  opened  on  a  party  of  Rimington's 
scouts  who  were  in  advance  of  us.  Then  our  troops 
marched  into  position  facing  the  larger  kopjes,  and 
half  an  hour  later  our  batteries  opened  fire  on  the 
rocks  which  hid  the  enemy.  The  naval  battery  in  the 
centre,  at  five  thousand  yards  distance,  joined  with 
the  shorter-range  artillery  in  bursting  shrapnel  with 
unvarying  accuracy  over  the  enemy.  The  Boers  as 
repeatedly  shot  beyond  and  behind  our  men.  They 
seemed  to  have  guns  everywhere,  stationed  singly  all 
over  the  hills. 

Soon  after  seven  o'clock  the  excellent  marksman- 
ship of  a  gunner  behind  the  grassy  ridge  attracted  the 
attention,  and  perhaps  stirred  the  pride,  of  our  gun- 
ners, and  the  naval  battery  undertook  to  silence  him. 
Then  began  a  very  dramatic  and  long-sustained  com- 
bat which  was  a  striking  feature  of  the  battle.  The 
Boer  gun  was  never  seen,  and  the  man  who  served  it 
never  once  saw  us.  His  piece  was  hidden  beyond  the 
ridge  on  the  further  slope,  and  a  comrade  gave  him 
his  range  and  direction. 


BATTLE  OF  GRASPAN  143 

For  a  long  time  this  gunner  devoted  his  attention 
to  one  of  our  field  batteries.  Next  he  attacked  the 
black  mass  made  by  their  horses  and  limbers.  Later 
he  paid  his  respects  to  the  naval  gun  and  its  crew. 
He  never  achieved  perfect  excellence,  for  he  did  no 
damage  to  any  British  gun,  he  killed  but  two  horses 
in  the  field,  and  he  wounded  but  five  of  our  men  alto- 
gether. And  yet  he  got  his  range  so  quickly  and  well, 
and  he  was  so  persistent  and  so  wholly  invisible,  that 
our  men  set  their  teeth  in  grim  determination  to 
destroy  him.  They  had  for  a  target  nothing  but  the 
thin  smoke  which  rose  over  his  gun,  but  into  that  little 
floating  cloud  they  planted  shot  and  shell,  until  at  the 
end  of  the  day  they  had  expended  two  hundred  and 
ten  rounds,  if  I  remember  the  extraordinary  figure 
correctly.  All  the  other  Boer  guns  were  silenced 
before  this  one  was,  and  at  twenty  minutes  to  ten 
this  was  disabled,  and  every  gun  of  the  enemy  was 
speechless. 

Presently,  at  about  half-past  seven,  our  men  began 
creeping  closer  and  closer  to  the  foe  hidden  among  the 
stones  above  our  heads.  At  7.45  the  Boer  riflemen 
discharged  a  fiendish  series  of  sharp  volleys  at  us, 
assisted  by  their  batteries.  Our  field  batteries  took 
note  of  the  position  of  these  guns,  and  bent  a  cross- 
fire upon  them,  dropping  two,  three,  and  even  four 
shells  at  a  time  upon  the  Boer  artillery.  It  was  after 
eight  o'clock  when  our  infantry  made  another  of  those 


144  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

gallant  rushes  into  a  rain  of  lead  which  this  war  has 
called  for  with  a  frequency,  and  with  a  quality  of  dan- 
ger, that  I  fancy  no  previous  conflict  has  so  often 
evoked. 

The  bulk  of  the  enemy  held  a  tall,  rocky  kopje,  and 
our  plan  w^as  to  rush  it,  as  we  had  rushed  several  such 
strongholds  at  Belmont.  The  troops  of  the  Ninth 
Brigade  led  the  way,  and  the  Naval  Brigade  were  in 
the  very  front.  The  Guards  Brigade,  lustrous  with 
honour  after  the  manner  in  which  they  had  borne  the 
brunt  of  the  last  fight,  were  now  in  the  rear,  drawn  up 
in  wide  formation  on  the  level  veldt,  and  advancing 
slowly  to  support  the  attacking  force. 

The  naval  men  marched  boldly  to  the  foot  of  the 
kopje,  meeting,  but  not  daunted  by,  the  fearful  fire. 

They  reached  the  rocks  and  began  the  ascent, 
huddled  together,  as  if  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  dire 
necessity,  in  such  warfare,  for  giving  such  a  hail  of 
shot  all  possible  room  to  spend  itself  in  space,  and  the 
least  possible  chance  to  lodge  in  human  bodies.  It  is 
said  that  the  shape  of  the  kopje  made  this  in  some 
degree  necessary,  but  they  appeared  to  despise  all 
danger. 

They  spent  but  very  little  time  in  taking  breath,  or 
in  seeking  shelter  among  the  rocks ;  and  pushed 
straight  up  the  acclivity,  now  walking,  now  spurting 
up  in  short  dashes. 

It  was  horrible  to  see  what  damage  befell  them. 


BATTLE  OF  GRASPAN  145 

An  officer  of  the  King's  Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry 
declared  that  in  the  heat  of  the  rush  he  could  only 
think  of  his  sorrow  for  these  men — his  sorrow,  and  his 
amazement  at  their  valour.  And  Major  Lindley,  sur- 
geon to  Rimington's  Guides,  said  he  was  riveted  to 
the  spot  by  the  sight  of  such  magnificent,  reckless 
courage,  though  the  bullets  were  falling  thickly  around 
him  also. 

One  man  in  every  two  was  struck  down  in  the 
furious  onset  of  that  little  brigade  of  straw-hatted 
shipmates,  and  precisely  one  half  the  force  fell  on  the 
kopje,  dead  or  wounded. 

The  Yorkshires,  moving  five  paces  apart,  dashed  up 
to  support  the  marines,  the  men  of  the  Northampton- 
shire Regiment  followed,  and  all  stormed  the  position 
together. 

Perhaps  another  battalion  was  in  the  rear,  but  these 
were  the  men  who  were  in  first  at  the  death.  They 
made  it  far  too  hot  for  the  astonished  Boers,  who 
turned  and  fled  down  the  other  side  of  the  hill,  as  the 
first  of  the  British  reached  its  top. 

From  the  veldt  the  Boers  were  seen  fleeing  along  the 
low  ridge  in  great  numbers,  while  our  men,  who  had 
occupied  their  position,  saw  greater  numbers  dashing 
on  horseback  into  the  open  country  to  the  northward. 

A  battery  was  sent  for  to  shell  them  ;  it  seemed  as 
if  with  this  help  the  majority  of  the  runaways  might 
be  captured,  but    the   horses  were  spent,  and  in   an 


146  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

hour's  time  no  battery  had  come.  Our  mounted  in- 
fantry started  to  pursue  the  fugitives  by  passing  be- 
tween two  middle  kopjes,  from  and  at  which  not  a  shot 
had  been  fired,  and  without  the  slightest  warning  two 
volleys,  as  concerted  as  if  fired  by  Europeans,  checked 
them  with  a  sheet  of  missiles.  It  was  estimated  that 
fifteen  hundred  Boers  had  been  in  hiding  there.  They, 
too,  melted  away  before  word  of  their  presence  could 
be  sent  to  our  leaders. 

Thus  the  battle  ended.  The  enemy  had  been  shelled 
away  from  some  strongholds.  The  gallantry  of  our 
foot  forces  had  accelerated  their  flight  from  others, 
and  destroyed  a  great  number  of  them,  but  the  day 
belonged  to  the  men  who  handled  our  great  guns. 

Our  losses  were  155  killed,  165  wounded,  and  the 
Boers  suffered  very  nearly  as  heavily.  As  they  sink 
their  dead  in  rivers,  bury  them  in  the  sand,  and  ride 
off  with  them  over  their  saddle-bows,  it  is  never  easy 
to  estimate  their  casualties. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

BATTLE   OF   MODDER   RIVER 

We  had  fought  two  battles  in  five  days,  and  then, 
after  a  short  march,  had  come  upon  a  large  pond,  and 
had  halted  and  camped  beside  it. 

What  a  priceless  possession  water  was,  or  the  taste 
of  it,  or  even  the  sight  of  it,  to  ten  thousand  march- 
ing men  on  this  parched  veldt !  We  had  started  from 
water  at  Orange  River,  marched  to  water  at  Fincham's 
Farm,  then  on  again  to  the  next  water  at  Belmont, 
and  fought  there.  Thence  we  had  marched  to  Gras- 
pan  and  fought,  treasuring  a  little  water  more  than  we 
treasured  human  lives,  and  so  on  until  we  filled  our 
carts  and  bottles  at  this  pond  by  Honey  Nest  Kloof. 

To  the  north  of   us,  in  purple   bulk,  rose  the  hills 

that  lie  a  few  miles  beyond  the  Modder  River.     They 

interested  us  because  many  said  that  in  or  beyond 

them  we  must  meet  the  Boers  for  the  last  time  before 

entering  Kimberley,  a  dozen  miles  farther  on.     But 

we  had  water  a-plenty — to  drink,  to  wash  in,  even  for 

bathing  on  the  part  of  those  who  did  not  mind  doing 

so  in  a  pond  where  the  mules  were  watered,  and  the 

mud  was  some  feet  deep. 

147 


148  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

We  could  not  see  the  Modder,  but  we  knew  that  it 
somewhere  pierced  the  wide,  nearly  level  field  of  sage 
tufts  and  sparse  young  grass  before  us.  As  the  after- 
noon wore  on  we  heard  that  just  out  of  sight  there  was 
a  village  in  our  path  where  three  hundred  Boers  were 
entrenched.  One  story  was  that  a  part  of  their  force 
had  shot  at  another  part  for  trying  to  desert.  An- 
other rumour  ran  that,  instead  of  this,  all  had  shot  at 
Rimington's  "  night  cat  "  guides,  who  had  sent  in  to 
us  for  help  which  we  had  not  supplied. 

But  we  were  camped  beside  abundant  water,  we  had 
fought  two  stiff  battles  in  five  days,  and  we  were  rest- 
ing. Take  my  own  case  to  show  how  others  fared  :  I 
had  borrowed  a  waterproof  covering  from  an  ammuni- 
tion cart,  and  had  made  a  shelter  of  it  over  four  up- 
rights— two  guns  and  two  sticks.  I  had  filled  my 
water-bottle,  and  also  a  two-quart  canvas  bag  which 
leaked,  and  I  was  lying  on  a  blanket,  writing  a  descrip- 
tion of  Belmont  fight,  and  exulting  in  the  sound  of  the 
waste  of  my  water  as  it  dripped  from  the  bag.  Every 
half-hour  I  quaffed  water,  or  treated  the  colonel,  or  the 
Times  correspondent,  to  a  drink.  This  was  out  of 
pure  camaraderie,  for  they  had  plenty  also.  When  it 
was  too  dark  to  write  I  washed  my  other  flannel  shirt 
and  my  other  socks,  and  dabbled  in  the  water.  All  of 
us  in  the  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry  did  the  same,  as  if 
we  were  ducks. 

In  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  Tuesday,  Novem- 


BATTLE  OF  MODDER  RIVER  149 

ber  28th,  we  took  marching  form  at  the  leisurely  hour 
of  half-past  four,  and  even  then  halted  often.  Briga- 
dier-General Pole-Carew  had  just  arrived,  and  rode 
about  the  field,  being  introduced  to  the  commanders 
of  the  battalions  of  the  9th  Brigade — the  Yorkshire 
Light  Infantry,  5th  Northumberlands,  Loyal  Lanca- 
shires,  the  Northamptonshires,  the  Mounted  Infantry, 
9th  Lancers,  the  Royal  Artillerymen,  and  the  rest. 
In  the  other  brigade  the  two  Coldstreams,  the  Scots 
Guards,  the  Grenadiers,  and  the  freshly-arrived  Argyll 
and  Sutherland  Regiment  were  forming  the  right  of 
the  advance. 

We  marched  four  miles  or  more,  and  were  able  to 
see  a  long,  thin  fringe  of  trees  which  we  were  certain 
marked  the  hidden  course  of  the  Modder,  flowing  in  a 
stream  twenty  or  thirty  yards  wide  at  the  bottom  of 
the  deep  channel  it  had  cut  in  the  level  prairie — a  huge 
canal,  yet  one  that  was  as  invisible  until  you  came  to 
its  edge  as  were  the  Boers  who  lined  the  bank,  down 
on  their  knees,  Mausers  in  hand,  like  a  three-mile  jaw 
full  of  sunken  teeth. 

Three  miles  of  Boers  were  there,  and  behind  them 
in  the  hills  and  on  the  farther  shore  they  had  taken 
up  a  six-mile  artillery  line.  Straight  towards  them 
we  marched  on.  Hares  scampered  from  before  us, 
a  flock  of  bustards  rose  clumsily  at  our  approach, 
the  little  ''thickheads'*  shot  up,  cried  '' Hui  !  "  and 
fell   into  the  sage,  but   otherwise    all  was   calm    and 


150  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

peaceful — a  glorious,  brilliant  summer  morning  on  the 
veldt. 

Far  over  on  the  right  a  body  of  perhaps  five  hun- 
dred horsemen  rode  in  full  view,  bunched  together; 
halted,  and  then  rode  on  again,  Hke  theatrical  cavalry 
moving  across  a  stage.  They  were  Boers  showing 
themselves  to  the  British  openly  for  the  first  time  in 
our  experience  with  Lord  Methuen's  column.  They 
were  impudent.  They  rode  rapidly  to  the  left,  and 
our  mounted  infantry  gave  them  chase.  A  concealed 
gun  beside  a  little  mud-house  opened  fire  on  the 
mounted  men,  our  i8th  Battery  retorted,  and  thus 
began  this  battle,  so  memorable  in  many  ways,  so 
unique  in  several  aspects,  so  certain  to  have  a  dis- 
tinct place  of  its  own  in  British  history. 

This  was  at  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  Boers  who  had  shown  themselves  were  shelled 
out  of  a  little  laager  on  the  extreme  right,  and  chased 
ineffectually  by  our  mounted  infantry.  Boer  guns 
belched  flame  and  thin  blue  smoke  from  several  posi- 
tions across  the  hidden  river,  our  i8th  and  75th  Field 
Batteries  replied  with  spirit,  and  the  Lancers  rode  far 
to  the  right,  to  be  within  hail  if  the  vanishing  mounted 
infantry  needed  fleet  help.  The  batteries  all  along 
our  four  or  five  mile  line  came  into  action  as  a  larger 
number  of  Boer  guns  disclosed  their  positions,  and  our 
infantry,  long  halted,  began  a  slow  advance,  feeling  its 
way.     The  Guards  Brigade  went  straight  ahead  toward 


BATTLE  OF  MODDER  RIVER  151 

the  river,  forming  the  right  wing.  The  9th  Brigade 
moved  diagonally  across  to  the  left  toward  the  part  of 
the  river  beyond  the  broken  railway  bridge,  where  they 
found  a  field  battery,  and  the  naval  guns  covering  them 
with  hot  fire. 

Where  the  Guards  advanced  the  plain  inclined  down- 
ward from  the  river  like  a  theatre  stage.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  railway — to  the  left — there  was  a  well-de- 
fined ridge  between  our  soldiers  and  the  river,  and  this 
concealed  their  approach.  On  the  right  the  hidden 
Boers  in  their  trenches  on  our  side  of  the  Modder  could 
see  the  body  of  a  man  at  any  point  before  them  for 
three  miles.  On  the  left  those  who  were  on  the  fur- 
ther shore  could  only  see  our  forces  after  they  reached 
the  ridge  which  ran  across. 

It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  when  the  Boers  on  the  right 
opened  upon  our  advancing  Guards  a  hot  continuous 
rifle  fire,  unprecedented  in  severity  and  duration,  which 
ceased  for  only  two  brief  intervals  between  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning  and  twenty  minutes  past  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  when  the  sun  sank.  Like  a  ripping  of 
the  air,  like  a  tearing  of  some  part  of  nature,  that  hell's 
vomit  began,  and  was  immediately  answered  by  the 
Guards. 

Our  soldiers  started  forward  with  150  to  160  rounds, 
and  many  bags  and  boxes  of  cartridges  were  sent  creep- 
ingly  to  them  during  the  afternoon.  The  Boers  had 
more  ammunition  than  we.     When  I  walked  through 


152  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

their  trenches  at  next  daybreak  it  seemed  as  though 
they  had  been  standing  toe  deep  in  their  shells ;  that 
they  had  had  cartridges  to  sleep  upon,  to  eat,  to  bury 
their  dead  beneath,  if  they  had  cared  to  use  them  in 
such  ways. 

At  first  soldiers  and  correspondents  called  to  each 
other  that  they  had  never  heard  such  a  fury  of  firing. 
An  hour  or  two  later  somebody  asked  what  it  sounded 
like,  and  I  said  :  **  crackers  let  off  in  a  barrel."  Two 
or  three  hours  later  it  seemed  more  like  an  exaggerated 
sound  of  the  perpetual  frying  of  fat. 

Lord  Methuen,  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  led  a 
movement  of  the  Guards  to  flank  the  Boers.  He 
realised  the  need  of  some  bold  and  gallant,  even  grand, 
action  to  shorten  this  duel  between  a  foe  that  was 
unseen,  yet  could  see,  and  his  worthier  force,  which 
could  not  do  else  than  lie  still  or  suffer  useless  dam- 
age. The  general's  purpose  was  valiantly  attempted, 
but  the  fire  was  too  hot  and  the  river  too  deep,  so  that 
his  plan  had  to  be  abandoned  so  far  as  the  right  of 
the  field  was  concerned. 

Before  and  long  after  this  I  moved  behind  the  Scots 
and  Coldstreams,  seeing  the  wounded  limp  away,  or 
crawl  back,  or  being  carried  in,  always  through  a  fire 
so  thick  and  fearful  that  no  man  can  imagine  how  any 
one  passed  under  or  through  it.  Many  could  not.  I 
saw  and  heard  of  many  who,  being  crippled,  lay  flat 
for  hours,  not  daring  to  rise  for  succour.     If  one  asked 


BATTLE  OF  MODDER  RIVER  153 

a  comrade  for  a  drink  of  water,  he  saw  the  bottle,  or 
the  hand  that  was  passing  it,  pierced  by  a  dum-dum 
or  a  one-pounder  Nordenfeldt  shell.  Or  il  he  raised 
his  head  to  writhe  in  his  pain  he  felt  his  helmet  shot 
away. 

From  the  rear  ammunition-carriers  and  stretcher- 
bearers  walked  boldly  forward,  until,  the  moment 
they  were  within  range,  a  sheet,  a  torrent  of  bullets 
and  small  shells  raked  the  air,  as  jets  of  water  spurt 
from  a  flower-sprinkler.  But  that  image  is  too  faint, 
for  the  jets  were  all  whistling  or  shrieking,  throwing 
up  fountains  of  red  sand,  exploding  in  hundreds  of 
detonations  like  echoes  of  the  guns  that  spewed  them. 
At  this  down  upon  their  bellies  dropped  the  stretcher- 
bearers  and  the  cartridge-carriers,  and  there  they  lay 
for  hours,  never  rising  or  attempting  to  rise  without 
loosing  this  torrent  anew.  Once  a  poor  Coldstream 
private  with  one  foot  shot  away  lay  in  this  leaden  rain 
crying  for  help.  I  gave  him  my  water-bottle,  and  Mr. 
Knox,  the  Reuter  correspondent,  ran  to  some  stretch- 
er-bearers to  beg  them  to  carry  the  man  to  the  ambu- 
lance train. 

"  We  would  be  killed  if  we  went  to  him,"  one  said. 

"  Come  with  me,"  said  Knox  ;  ''  I'll  lead  if  you  will 
follow."     Thus  relief  came  to  one  poor  sufferer. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  on  the  right,  and  thus  it 
remained  for  more  than  eight  hours  ;  but  the  extraor- 
dinary fact  about  it  is  that  nothing  was  being  effected 


154  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

by  this  awful  and  unparalleled  fire.  A  few  hundreds 
were  hit  on  both  sides,  but  our  front  was  not  ad- 
vanced— did  not  progress  materially  the  whole  day 
long.  The  little  lot  of  Boers  who  had  been  so  auda- 
cious earlier  in  the  day  returned  in  the  afternoon, 
after  the  mounted  infantry  had  given  up  trying  to 
capture  them.  And  now  they  flanked  us  and  poured 
a  tremendous  volley  or  two  into  our  ambulance  and 
ammunition  train,  frightening  the  Kaffir  drivers  and 
their  mules  into  a  panic,  and  yet  not  profiting  by  their 
success,  for  they  retired  as  suddenly  as  they  had  re- 
appeared. 

This  firing  on  the  ambulances  with  their  loads  of 
wounded  was  not  an  isolated  incident.  Earlier  in  the 
day  I  had  three  times  seen  the  terrible  new  Maxim- 
Nordenfeldt  one-pound  quick-firer  trained  on  our  Red 
Cross  men  who  were  sent  forward  to  be  nearer  the 
wounded  and  to  gather  them  in. 

That  awful  new  gun  !  Mauser  fire  starts  with  a 
crack  !  goes  on  with  the  buzz  of  a  bee,  and  ends  with 
a  ping  !  in  the  earth  or  one's  body.  One  gets  used  to 
it,  familiar  with  it,  a  little  inclined  to  be  indifferent 
to  it.  But  the  new  one-pound  quick-firer  carries  a 
menace  which  compels  respect.  It  goes  off  with  a 
"putt — putt — putt — putt,"  like  the  ten-billion-times- 
exaggerated  noise  of  water  gurgling  in  a  bottle.  The 
force  and  violence  and  intensity  of  the  noise  make  it 
seem  that  whatever  is  coming  will  perforate  chilled 


BATTLE  OF  MODDER  RIVER  155 

steel.  And  then  come  the  bullets,  like  so  many  jets 
of  steam  released  from  the  highest  pressure,  and  sing- 
ing like  little  steam-whistles. 

It  was  on  the  right  that  nothing  was  being  effected. 
We  were  more  active  and  successful  on  the  left. 

Lord  Methuen  had  gone  over  to  that  side  in  the 
afternoon,  and  had  found  the  Yorkshire  Light  In- 
fantry in  the  van,  and  at  the  slight  ridge  which  in  a 
measure  commanded  the  Boers.  Some  of  them  were 
in  a  small  house  on  our  side  of  the  river,  and  these 
had  been  routed  by  a  rush  of  the  Yorkshires.  Captain 
Bond  and  his  men  were  in  advance,  and  these  Lord 
Methuen  took  with  him  in  an  attempt  to  ford  the 
stream.  It  was  not  within  human  possibility  for  this 
to  be  done  at  that  point,  so  hot  was  the  fire  from  be- 
hind walls  and  earthworks  beyond,  and  so  unfordable 
was  the  river  there.  It  was  in  retiring  under  this 
blistering  fire  that  the  general  was  wounded — a  flesh 
wound  entailing  considerable  suffering,  but  happily 
no  real  danger. 

The  brave  example  he  set  was  followed  by  Colonel 
Barter,  of  the  Yorkshires,  who,  with  twenty  men  or 
more,  rushed  for  a  shallow  stony  spot  in  the  river,  and 
got  across,  while  a  battery  and  the  rifle  fire  of  the  men 
behind  him  drove  the  Boers  out  of  the  angle  of  wall 
and  the  trenches  that  had  covered  the  ford.  Other 
men  pressed  after  these,  notably  some  of  the  Argyll 
and  Sutherland  Regiment,  who  behaved  most  gallantly. 


156  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

Colonel  Barter  and  his  force  of  four  hundred  at  its 
largest,  now  advanced  to  the  right  towards  the  Boer 
stronghold,  through  gardens  and  over  walls.  But  they 
were  so  confused  with  the  enemy,  whose  position  they 
had  taken,  that  they  received  the  fire  of  our  own 
troops,  and  even  a  shell  from  one  of  our  batteries. 
Therefore  they  rested  where  this  fire  halted  them,  on 
the  enemy's  side. 

Their  success,  and  the  unceasing  and  accurate  fire 
of  our  guns  all  day  long,  quite  exhausted  the  stamina 
of  the  Boers.  They  held  to  their  trenches  until  dusk 
and  then  retired,  sinking  some  of  their  dead  in  the 
river,  it  is  said,  carrying  off  what  wounded  they  could, 
and  spiriting  away  their  guns  in  the  almost  magical 
manner  in  which  they  have  performed  these  feats  after 
each  of  their  battles. 

They  had  twenty  guns  to  our  nineteen,  and  while 
none  of  ours  were  better  than  twelve-pounders,  they 
had  at  least  one  very  heavy  piece.  They  massed 
eleven  thousand  men,  and  we  had  less  than  ten  thou- 
sand. They  fought  in  a  position  of  which  they  had 
boasted  as  their  best. 

About  one  hundred  were  slain,  and  we  took  nearly 
as  many  prisoners,  while  their  wounded  probably 
equalled  ours  in  number.  Taken  at  such  a  tremen- 
dous disadvantage,  it  was  certain  that  we  must  suffer 
great  damage.  Our  losses  were  67  killed,  370  wound- 
ed, 18  missing.     Of  the  killed,  four  were  officers,  and 


BATTLE  OF  MODDER  RIVER  157 

there  were  19  officers  wounded.  Our  gains  were 
greater.  We  beat  their  largest  force  on  this  side,  and 
the  three  generals  who  led  it ;  we  rested  beyond  their 
stongest  position,  twenty-four  miles  from  Kimberley, 
hoping  soon  to  be  there. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ECHOES  OF  MODDER  RIVER 

The  more  one  saw  of  Modder  River  battle-field,  and 
the  more  one  considered  the  battle,  the  more  its  ter- 
rific character  was  revealed  and  realised. 

Some  phases  of  the  fight,  and  some  of  the  tales  we 
heard  of  the  part  the  Boers  played  in  it,  make  it  cer- 
tain that  there  never  was  a  battle  like  it. 

At  first  we  were  impressed  by  the  sagacity  shown 
by  the  Boer  leaders  in  intrenching  their  men  where 
they  did,  at  the  top  and  back  of  a  vast,  smooth,  in- 
clined plane,  every  inch  of  which  was  visible  to  these 
hidden  men. 

But  by  remaining  long  enough  to  go  thoroughly 
over  the  field,  we  learned  that  an  even  stronger  and  in 
all  ways  better  position  could  have  been  made  for 
most  of  them  just  behind  the  one  they  chose,  and  on 
the  island  in  the  river. 

It  must  be  understood  that  their  horde  lay  intrenched 

on  the  edge  of  the  river  at  a  point  where  the  Modder 

and  the  Reit  join  one  another. 

The  land  between  the  two  is  called  an   island,  and 
158 


ECHOES  OF  MODDER  RIVER  159 

this  land  continues  the  upward  slope  of  the  veldt,  so 
that  it  is  higher  and  more  commanding,  and,  better 
yet  for  Boer  purposes,  it  is  luxuriant  with  trees  and 
bushes. 

Here,  in  fact,  the  Boers  did  put  their  sharp-shooters, 
and  here  they  manipulated  their  deadly  *'  putt-putt " 
gun,  as  our  army  has  nicknamed  the  Vickers-Maxim 
quick-firer,  which  commanded  such  respect  as  to  make 
every  man  who  heard  it  bow  his  head  or  prostrate  his 
body. 

Men  so  shrewd  and  instinctively  soldierly  as  the 
Boers  must  have  known  that  this  more  elevated  posi- 
tion, with  the  river  in  front  of  it  as  a  moat,  was  supe- 
rior to  the  one  they  selected. 

A  story  which  many  Boer  prisoners  have  told  us 
tends  to  explain  why  the  lower  ground  was  chosen — 
though  it  is  a  tale  which  can  be  credited  only  by  those 
of  us  who  are  accustomed  to  the  extraordinary  phases 
and  conditions  of  this  strangest  of  modern  wars. 

The  story  is  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  Free  State 
Boers  were  so  averse  to  fighting  in  the  first  place,  and 
so  shaken  by  our  incessant  and  accurate  artillery  fire, 
that  they  were  only  kept  in  the  trenches  at  the  point 
of  revolvers  held  over  them  by  their  leaders,  who 
swore  to  shoot  any  man  who  tried  to  desert.  This 
was  told  us  by  many  prisoners  taken  at  different  times 
and  places. 

If  it  is  true,  it  may  well  be  that  there  was  a  serious 


i6o  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

purpose  in  choosing  the  lower  ground  for  the  Boer 
position,  because  thus  the  river,  where  it  is  deepest 
and  impossible  to  ford,  was  immediately  at  their  backs. 

After  I  had  seen  no  more  of  the  field  than  their 
three-mile  line  of  trenches,  I  could  not  understand 
how  we  had  been  able  to  dislodge  them,  or  why  they 
had  at  last  left  the  field  to  us.  Their  position  seemed 
superb — impregnable.  But  yesterday  a  search  for  the 
place  from  which  the  "  putt-putt "  gun  was  fired  led 
me  to  the  island  overlooking  the  river  and  the  trenches. 
Then  I  saw  plainly  why  and  how  we  had  gained  the 
victory. 

Beyond  the  British  infantry  lines,  where  our  Guards* 
Brigade  were  so  cruelly  forced  to  lie  for  more  than 
eight  hours  under  a  driving  rain  of  lead  from  an  enemy 
they  could  never  see,  we  worked  three  Royal  Artillery 
batteries.  These  were  the  i8th  and  75th,  which  fired 
all  day  long,  and  the  62nd,  which  came  twenty  miles 
to  our  aid,  and  got  into  action  at  half-past  four  in  the 
afternoon,  with  horses  so  fagged  that  the  men  had 
been  obliged  to  walk  the  last  few  miles. 

These  batteries  played  on  the  trenches  and  on  the 
island,  which  two  points  are  so  close  that  both  were 
damaged  alike.  The  shells  which  scattered  their 
shrapnel  upon  the  men  in  the  trenches  carried  their 
heavy  metal  cases  over  to  the  island.  Much  of  the 
shrapnel  was  also  carried  there.  The  result,  as  seen 
afterwards,  was  a  surface  devastation  almost  baffling 


ECHOES  OF  MODDER  RIVER  i6i 

description.  In  the  space  of  a  mile  in  length  and  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  width  there  was  scarcely  a  square 
yard  not  torn  up,  perforated,  riddled,  ploughed,  and 
raked.  Shrapnel  bullets,  shell  cases,  fuses,  and  bits  of 
metal  lay  all  over  the  place.  Incredible  as  it  sounds, 
there  were  on  that  ground  two  rusty  old  tins — one  a 
small  "  bully-beef  "  tin  and  the  other  a  biscuit-tin,  both 
riddled  with  shrapnel  and  shot. 

In  that  scene  lies  the  explanation  of  the  flight  of 
the  Boers.  In  that  scene  one  finds  some  confirmation 
of  the  story  that  the  Boers  had  to  be  kept  to  their 
work  under  threat  of  the  revolver. 

A  common  reliance  of  the  Boer  was  upon  gin. 
Empty  gin-bottles,  bottles  still  containing  gin,  and 
one  full  bottle  of  that  spirit,  were  to  be  seen  stuck  in 
the  loose  dirt  of  the  trenches.  In  every  trench  was  a 
surprising  litter  of  shell  cartridges  of  many  sorts — 
Mausers,  Martini-Henrys,  and  two  or  three  sorts  of 
expanding  and  explosive  bullets. 

The  island  seems  to  have  been  where  the  sharp- 
shooters were  placed — on  the  ground,  behind  trenches, 
and  in  the  trees.  We  understood  from  the  prisoners 
that  these  were  always  stationed  in  couples,  and  that 
the  orders  were  that  whenever  one  was  killed  or 
wounded  his  companion  was  to  bury  him,  or  carry  him 
off  the  field.  Continually  we  found  the  dead  bodies 
of  Boers  in  the  river^  buried  in  the  sand  with  fingers  or 

boots  protruding,  heaped  in  a  trench,  and  elsewhere. 
II 


i62  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

When  I  searched  the  island  I  found  profuse  proofs 
of  other  burials  beside  these — of  new  dead  not  included 
in  any  estimate.  Here  were  grave-shaped  mounds  of 
such  fresh  appearance  and  suggestive  shape  that  I 
examined  them.  They  were  covered  with  short  bush 
growths,  and  lo !  when  we  touched  these  they  came 
out  of  the  earth,  and  were  seen  to  be  tree-twigs,  and 
branches  cut  from  trees  and  stuck  in  the  mounds. 

Some  distance  back  in  the  island  we  found  a  large 
trench,  of  a  size  to  hold  twenty  bodies.  It  gave  indu- 
bitable proof  of  its  contents.  As  we  understand  the 
tactics  of  our  enemy,  these  graves  are  apt  to  be  those 
of  their  humbler  soldiers.  We  know  that  they  carry 
off  in  carts,  and  across  their  saddles,  the  bodies  of  the 
more  important  dead. 

This  was  done  at  this  battle.  A  woman,  whose 
cottage  was  in  the  rear  of  a  field  north  of  the  river, 
declared  that  all  day  long  the  wounded  came  to  her 
house  upon  each  other's  heels  to  have  their  wounds 
dressed,  and  said  that  the  dead  in  large  numbers  were 
carried  upon  planks  placed  upon  the  backs  of  ponies 
northward  to  the  Boer  lines.  First  in  the  mind  of  the 
Boer  is  the  desire  to  hide  his  dead,  and  to  lie  about 
their  number.  It  is  from  their  own  that  they  most 
desire  to  hide  the  truth.  The  prisoners  we  took  all 
said  that  only  eighteen  had  been  killed,  but  the 
deserters  said  the  loss  of  life  was  very  great,  and  that 
in  the  river  quite  a  hundred  were  sunk  with  weights. 


ECHOES  OF  MODDER  RIVER  163 

We  may  learn  some  day  that  in  killed  alone  the 
Boers  lost  at  least  three  hundred. 

It  is  wonderful  how  the  formation  of  the  country 
aids,  and  perhaps  inspires,  the  Boer  methods  of  war- 
fare. You  have  heard  how  the  burgher  comes  to 
battle  with  two  horses,  a  poor  one  to  carry  him  to  the 
fight,  and  the  best  steed  he  has  to  be  kept  fresh  until 
it  is  needed  to  carry  him  swiftly  away.  Usually  we 
have  seen  the  Boers  run  down  the  far  sides  of  the 
kopjes  they  have  been  defending,  to  find  horses  knee- 
haltered  on  the  veldt,  and  to  mount  them  and  ride 
away. 

At  Belmont,  when  a  thousand  or  more  were  in  full 
flight,  they  all  suddenly  disappeared  in  a  mysterious 
way.  We  found  that  all  had  ridden  into  what  they 
call  a  "  sluit,"  which  is  broad  and  deep  enough  to  hide 
a  cavalry  regiment.  In  this  trough  or  ravine  they 
made  their  way  to  the  next  place  of  rendezvous.  On 
the  island  at  Modder  River  such  a  ravine  or  trough 
exists.  It  is  thirty  feet  wide  and  fifteen  deep.  We 
found  its  bottom  covered  with  hay  and  other  fodder, 
and  we  knew  that  in  it,  out  of  harm's  way  and  yet 
close  at  hand,  they  had  kept  their  horses  in  readiness 
for  their  retreat. 

After  every  battle  the  veldt  has  been  dotted  with 
Boer  horses,  in  consequence  of  this  custom  of  bringing 
a  remount  for  each  well-to-do  man,  and  in  consequence 
of  the  loss  of  riders  by  death  and  wounds.     But  both 


i64  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

previous  battle-fields  combined  showed  no  such  num- 
ber of  riderless  steeds  as  Modder  River.  There  were 
literally  hundreds  of  them.  I  had  lost  mine  in  the 
fight,  but  in  the  first  half-hour  of  the  next  morning  I 
took  my  choice  of  four,  and  might  have  made  my 
pick  from  a  hundred,  saddled  and  bridled,  before  I 
had  gone  half  over  the  field. 

We  now  know  that  it  was  our  artillery  fire  that 
thinned  the  ranks  and  broke  the  nerve  of  the  enemy. 
It  was  a  fearful  assault  produced  by  an  extraordinary 
discharge  of  shot  and  shell. 

The  four  naval  guns  fired  some  five  hundred  and 
fourteen  rounds,  the  i8th  Battery  fired  eleven  hun- 
dred rounds, the  75th  fired  nine  hundred  rounds,  and  the 
62nd  five  hundred  ;  or  three  thousand  rounds  in  all. 
As  to  the  rifle  fire,  most  of  our  men  took  into  the  fight 
one  hundred  and  fifty  or  one  hundred  and  sixty  rounds, 
and  the  average  fire  per  rifle  by  the  nine  battalions 
must  have  been  one  hundred  rounds.  The  climax  of 
the  Boers'  desire  to  vacate  the  field  was  reached  when 
a  stalwart  British  cheer  broke  upon  their  ears  at  their 
side  and  in  their  rear. 

There  should  not  be  any  confusion  as  to  what  men 
raised  this  cheer  and  were  the  first  to  ford  the  river ; 
but  there  is.  It  is  due  to  the  fact  that  men  of  several 
ambitious  commands  composed  the  first  body  of  ford- 
ers. 

To  put  history  right,  the  credit  of  first  crossing  the 


ECHOES  OF  MODDER  RIVER  165 

river  belongs  to  a  small  party  of  Coldstream  Guards- 
men who  early  in  the  day  waded  in  to  their  waists, 
and  then  swam,  laden  with  all  their  gear  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  rounds  of  ammunition.  There  were 
between  twenty-four  and  forty  men  in  this  body,  and 
though  many  won  across,  two  were  nearly  drowned, 
and  all  saw  that  it  was  wise  to  return.  The  river  was 
too  deep,  and  when  they  reached  the  further  shore 
they  sank  in  mud  to  their  knees. 

This  happened  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  line, 
where  Lord  Methuen  made  his  first  gallant  attempt  to 
force  a  passage. 

He  tried  again  on  the  far  left,  and  it  was  there  that, 
beyond  any  doubt  or  dispute,  Colonel  Barter,  of  the 
King's  Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  got  across  by 
a  fairly  good  fording-place  with  a  score  or  two  dozen 
men,  some  of  vv^hom  were  his  own,  while  others  were 
men  of  the  Argyll  and  Sutherlandshire  and  the  North 
Lancashire  Regiments.  They  landed  against  some 
trenches  and  an  angle  of  stone  wall  which  were  held 
by  some  three  hundred  Boers. 

Just  as  they  were  crossing  a  battery  of  Royal  Artil- 
lery rolled  up  in  the  rear  of  our  men,  and,  before  it 
had  time  to  unlimber,  all  the  Boers  fled,  jostling  and 
even  knocking  each  other  down  in  eagerness  to  mount. 
In  time  our  force  across  the  river  numbered  four  hun- 
dred, and  Brigadier-General  Pole-Carew  took  command. 
Our  own  shells  and  our  own  rifle   fire  beat  upon  this 


i66  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

little  band,  and  it  halted  and  cheered  to  disclose  its 
nationality. 

That  is  the  truth  of  a  heroic  movement,  of  which 
too  many  versions  have  been  given. 

It  is  said  that  the  Boers  fight  in  deadly  terror  of  our 
bayonets,  which  we  had  not  yet  had  a  chance  to  use 
upon  them,  and  this  increased  their  fever  for  flight. 
They  have  also  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  our  lyddite 
shells — of  which,  likewise,  we  had  not  yet  made  any 
use;  but  at  this  battle  General  Cronje,  who  watched 
the  whole  fight,  supposed  our  naval  guns  were  firing 
lyddite,  and  said  to  his  staff,  "  I've  been  watching  that 
stuff  all  day,  and  I  don't  think  much  of  it." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FILLING    tommy's    WATER-BOTTLE 

We  knew  what  fighting  was,  but  we  also  learned  a 
few  things  about  water — we  men  on  Methuen's  march. 

When  we  were  over-civilised,  and  lived  in  London, 
we  made  poor  jokes  at  the  expense  of  water,  saying 
that  it  gave  laundresses  a  living,  that  it  was  invented 
to  float  Noah's  "  greatest  Zoo  on  earth,"  and  other 
such  puerilities. 

We  never  joke  about  water  now.  The  first  time  we 
really  appreciated  it  we  were  starting  out  from  Orange 
River.  The  previous  night  had  been  so  cold  that  I 
spent  it  in  walking  all  over  several  camps,  between  the 
prostrate  bodies  of  restless,  shivering  soldiers.  Some 
made  no  pretence  of  sleeping,  but  divided  their  time 
between  gathering  sticks,  and  building  little  fires  to 
huddle  round  while  they  lasted. 

In  time  that  agony  was  over  ;  and  we  were  marching, 
and  watching  the  day  break.  In  breaking  it  seemed 
to  rend  the  earth's  blanket  of  atmosphere,  and  let  the 
sun's  heat  out  upon  us  as  if  we  were  so  many  thousand 
stokers  in  the  broiling  belly  of  a  ship. 

167 


i68  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

On  and  on  we  marched,  in  heavy  sand,  or  over  stones, 
or  stumbling  across  furrowed  ground — all  gasping  like 
fishes  thrown  on  a  beach. 

At  first  our  lips  dried  and  cracked,  then  our  mouths 
parched,  and  finally  our  throats  became  as  if  they  were 
coated  with  plaster  of  Paris.  The  hair  shrivelled  on 
our  hands,  and  our  feet  grew  dry  as  devilled  bones. 
Here  and  there  a  man  fell  forward  on  his  hands  and 
knees,  or  stumbled  out  of  the  ranks,  and  lurched  prone 
on  the  veldt. 

In  the  course  of  the  march  some  skimpy,  light-green 
trees  broke  the  line  of  the  horizon  ahead,  and  put  new 
heart  in  us,  for  it  was  to  those  trees — at  a  place  called 
'*  Fincham's  " — that  we  were  to  march. 

Everything  has  its  ending,  and  at  last  we  came  to 
the  first  of  the  three  verdant  clumps  of  trees.  They 
were  poplars,  and  at  their  feet,  darkening  under  their 
foliage,  was  a  mud-banked  pool  of  dirty  water,  which 
tailed  off  to  the  northward  in  a  tiny,  stagnant-looking 
brooklet.  Men  with  horses  who  had  been  ahead  were 
watering  their  beasts,  and  to  these  our  Tommies  called, 
as  we  halted,  "  Fill  this  bottle  for  me,  will  ye,  mate  ?  " 
But  their  officers,  riding  beside  them,  and  ever  appre- 
hensive of  dysentery  and  typhoid,  called  aloud,  ''  Pass 
the  order  that  no  one  is  to  drink  this  water.  It  will 
only  make  the  men  ill." 

My  horse  showed  me  how  the  men  regarded  this 
order,  for  all  men  are  but  babies  of  varying  growth, 


FILLING  TOMMY'S  WATER-BOTTLE    169 

and  no  man  is  so  much  of  a  baby  as  a  horse.  He  would 
have  his  drink.  Turn  his  head  how  I  would,  or  turn  it 
how  often,  back  he  would  go  to  the  edge  of  the  stream. 
He  had  his  way  and  water,  but  Tommy  did  not,  for  an 
officer's  order  is  stronger  than  a  curbed  bit  of  steel. 

A  camp  was  planned,  and  the  battalions  were  marched 
to  their  places.  The  mess-sergeants  and  men  got  out 
their  '*  dickshees,"  or  Flanders  kettles,  their  food,  and 
their  firewood  to  cook  our  breakfasts,  and  the  transport 
men  and  grooms  leaped  bareback  on  five  hundred 
horses,  or  pulled  at  strings  of  mules  to  take  them  all 
to  water — good  water — somewhere  ahead. 

With  my  colonel,  C.  St.  Leger  Barter,  of  the  York- 
shire Light  Infantry,  I  walked  after  the  horses — he  in 
his  neat  suit  of  khaki-coloured  serge,  of  lounging  coat 
and  riding  breeches,  with  his  silver-topped  stick  in  hand, 
I  in  khaki,  with  a  Mexican  sombrero  on  my  head,  and 
cowboy  *'  chaps,"  or  gaiters,  on  my  legs — the  wonder 
of  all  who  saw  them. 

We  came  to  Fincham's,  a  yellow  Spanish-looking 
house,  all  set  about  with  trees.  In  and  out  of  its  yard 
horses  and  mules  passed  in  scores,  and  behind  the 
house  the  Tommies  crowded  like  bees  round  a  honey 
pot,  filling  their  cloth-clad  bottles  out  of  a  stone  tank, 
while  other  Tommies  walked  round  and  round  a  sort 
of  windlass  that  pumped  new  water  into  the  tank. 

Every  man  filled  his  bottle,  emptied  it  down  his 
throat,  and  filled  it  again. 


I/O  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

A  water-mania,  a  thirst-madness,  was  upon  the 
troops.  We  paddled  in  spilled  water,  and  the  sounds 
it  made  in  pouring,  gurgling,  and  splashing  were  as 
pleasant  music  to  all  our  ears.  The  colonel  and  I 
found  some  two-quart  tin  canteens — one  of  which  after- 
wards caught  the  sun  on  Modder  River  battle-field,  and 
directed  the  enemy's  fire  upon  me  until  I  put  it  under 
me  out  of  sight.  We  filled  these  canteens,  and  took 
loner  drinks  out  of  them  ;  and  then  we  found  a  bar-room 
with  German  lager  in  bottles,  and  bought  all  there  was 
— but  that  is  a  digression. 

We  stayed  a  day  or  so,  and  then,  one  blistering 
afternoon,  our  column — a  many-thousand-legged  centi- 
pede— streamed  along  the  thirsty,  heat-refracting  veldt 
again  for  Belmont. 

After  nightfall,  in  an  amazing,  hopeless  tangle  of 
men  and  horses  and  waggons,  we  squeezed  our  mass 
between  two  kopjes,  and  were  nearly  two  hours  in 
getting  ourselves  together,  in  boiling  some  tea,  and  in 
stretching  ourselves  on  the  now  cold  earth  to  court  a 
little  sleep. 

Men  and  carts  kept  moving  ahead  and  coming  back 
with  water — where  from  most  of  us  did  not  know. 
But  the  precious  fluid  was  plentiful.  We  drank  till 
our  waistbands  cut  into  us,  and  then  we  fell  asleep. 

In  the  chilly  night,  with  a  cup  of  hot  cocoa  to 
hearten  us  up,  we  crept  out  into  the  faint  moonlight 
shadows  of  some  hills,  and  by  daybreak  began  to  fight 


FILLING  TOMMY'S  WATER-BOTTLE    171 

the  awful  battle  of  Belmont.  I  was  late  in  returning 
to  camp,  for  it  is  my  custom  to  go  all  over  a  battle-field 
after  a  fight. 

But  when  I  did  return,  what  a  sight  met  my  eyes ! 

Only  a  Persian  poet  could  do  justice  to  it.  It  was 
like  the  celestial  imaginings  of  a  pious  Mussulman. 
At  the  head  of  the  glen  where  we  had  camped  was  an 
oasis  of  green  trees  toe-deep  in  the  edges  of  a  pond. 
Near  by  was  a  stone  tank  full  of  crystal  water,  and  be- 
side  it  our  people  had  constructed  another  of  white 
canvas,  in  which  the  same  pure  liquid  shone  like 
melted  diamonds,  touched  with  emerald  shadows  by 
some  sprays  of  foliage  above. 

Lines  of  men  were  standing  beside  the  tanks  dipping 
in  their  bottles,  a  line  at  a  time.  Other  men  in  scores 
sat  in  the  shade  beside  the  water.  Under  the  trees, 
in  the  invigorating  coolness  of  their  shelter,  the  bullet- 
riddled,  shell-mangled  wounded  were  laid  in  rows  upon 
stretchers,  with  the  doctors  and  attendants  minister- 
ing to  them.  Meanwhile  to  the  great  pool  came  the 
horses  and  mules,  sucking  up  gallons  of  water  each, 
and  wading  in  deeper  and  deeper  as  they  sucked. 

It  was  indeed  a  weird  picture — the  fagged  and  dusty 
soldiers,  the  spent  horses,  the  clouds  of  red  powdery 
dust  choking  us  all,  the  hot,  bare  veldt  reaching  away 
for  ever  in  all  directions,  the  horizon  tremblingf  and 
dancing  before  us  by  reason  of  the  movement  of  the 
heated  air;  finally,  the  bare,  naked  African  sun,  blaz- 


1/2  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

ing  down  at  us  as  the  Boers  had  been  doing  earlier  in 
the  day. 

We  marched  to  Graspan  with  our  water-bottles  and 
each  regimental  water-cart  filled,  but  the  Tommies 
made  away  with  their  shares  as  quickly,  as  Tommy 
does  with  the  food  and  drink  that's  given  him  to  keep 
him  going  for  a  day  or  m^ore. 

They  fought  the  battle  with  parched  throats,  and 
then  discovered  that  there  was  only  one  little  well  to 
supply  us  all  with  more.  Around  that  well  hundreds 
gathered,  and  when  the  buckets  were  being  emptied 
into  the  carts  the  soldiers  dipped  up  the  wastage  with 
their  tins. 

For  myself,  I  got  a  cup  of  boiling  water  from  a 
locomotive  engine,  and  sat  down  to  wait  till  I  could 
drink  it  without  being  scalded.  Ah,  how  priceless 
water  is  out  here  !  Sometimes  I  thought  of  men  with 
hose  pipes  drenching  Fleet  Street  and  the  Strand  with 
water  in  the  dead  of  night.  But  I  could  not  believe 
my  own  memory.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that  water 
was  ever  thrown  about  like  that. 

We  camped  beside  a  muddy,  grassy  pond  on  the  way 
to  Modder  River,  and  again  we  revelled  in  water.  We 
actually  washed  our  bodies  and  changed  our  clothing, 
and  felt  more  or  less  like  "  just  men  made  perfect." 

On  the  next  afternoon,  in  the  heat  of  a  fearful  bat- 
tle, I  asked  an  ofificer  who  guarded  a  water  waggon  of 
the  Coldstream  Guards  to  let  me  fill  my  bottle. 


FILLING  TOMMY'S  WATER-BOTTLE    173 

*'  We  have  not  enough  for  our  own  men,"  said  he. 

"  It  was  to  your  wounded  men  that  I  gave  what  I 
had,"  said  I,  turning  away. 

''  Please  come  back  and  fill  your  bottle,"  said  he  ; 
"  you  may  have  all  you  want." 

Twenty  minutes  later  more  wounded  men  crawling 
to  the  rear  began  again  to  cross  my  path  and  beg  for 
water. 

"  Please,  sir,  could  you  give  me  a  little  water  ?  " 

'*  That  man  over  there  has  had  one  foot  torn  away. 
Could  you  spare  him  a  drink  of  water  ?  " 

''  Hello  !  How  are  you  wounded  ?  Can  I  do  any- 
thing for  you  ?  " 

'*  Give  me  some  water,  sir,  for  God's  sake ;  that's  all 
I  want." 

We  had  learned  what  war  is,  and  more  about  the 
Boer  than  we  knew  a  month  ago  ;  but,  above  all,  we 
had  learned  the  value  of  water. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

BATTLE    OF   MAAGHERSFONTEIN 

It  was  the  morning  of  December  nth. 

We  had  pushed  on  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
from  the  advanced  base  at  De  Aar,  and  marched  more 
than  forty  miles  into  the  enemy's  field,  though  all  of 
it  was  within  one  of  the  Crown  colonies. 

Three  times  the  enemy  had  opposed  us,  each  time 
teaching  us  more  and  more  about  their  methods,  their 
stubbornness,  and  the  queer  game  they  play  of  facing 
us  as  long  as  they  can  damage  us,  and  retiring  as  we 
reach  the  moment  when  we  expect  to  demolish  them. 
But  each  time  the  fact  remained  that  we  had  forced 
them  out  of  their  superb  and  shrewdly-chosen  posi- 
tions. 

They  learned  a  great  deal  in  these  reverses.  They 
discovered  that,  sprinkle  themselves  as  they  would 
over  the  sheer  face  of  a  rock-strewn  hill,  and  hide  as 
they  might  among  the  rocks  to  shoot  us  in  the  open, 
or  while  we  exposed  ourselves  on  their  hills,  our 
valour  would  still  lead  us  to  storm  their  eyries  and 
rush  upon  their  soldiers  regardless  of  their  superior 
174 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      175 

numbers,  their  torrents  of  bullets,  and  their  almost 
unbroken  cover. 

Our  officers  had  been  taught  at  Sandhurst  that  to 
attack  an  intrenched  foe  successfully  requires  a  force 
three  times  as  strong  as  the  defenders.  But  we 
forged  ahead,  as  indifferent  to  such  maxims  as  to  the 
odds  heaped  high  against  us. 

The  profit  the  Boer  took  from  this  lesson  he  applied 
at  Modder  River  for  the  first  time  in  his  history. 
Our  shells  had  searched  behind  and  between  his 
adamantine  shelters,  and  our  soldiers  had  climbed  up 
and  into  them,  like  lions  which  seek  their  prey  in  its 
most  secret  lairs. 

Therefore  the  Boer,  at  Modder  River,  abandoned 
his  rocks  from  behind  which  he  had  thought  to  blow 
the  British  into  the  sea,  and  ensconced  himself  in  a  line 
of  trenches  on  the  open  veldt — trenches  fringed  with 
boughs  and  branches,  which  melted  into  the  line  of 
riverside  trees  behind  them. 

When  we  advanced  to  the  next  battle,  near  here,  at 
Maaghersfontein,  we  had  seen  a  great  kopje  swarming 
with  the  foe,  and  imagined  it  the  place  where  we  were 
to  fight  them — but  this  exhibition  of  their  surplus 
numbers  proved  a  mere  blind.  Their  mass  was  in 
trenches  on  the  veldt ;  the  hill  was  merely  where  they 
placed  their  guns  and  kept  their  reinforcements. 

After  the  Modder  River  fight,  on  November  28th, 
Lord  Methuen  halted  us  in  camp  until  December  loth, 


176  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

waiting,  we  believe,  for  the  battalions  of  the  Highland 
Brigade,  for  the  great  naval  gun  and  the  howitzer 
battery,  which  use  lyddite,  and  for  the  sorely-needed 
cavalry,  which  came  to  us  in  the  form  of  the  12th 
Lancers.  The  valiant  Ninth  Brigade  of  Yorkshire 
Light  Infantry,  5th  Northumberlands,  Loyal  North 
Lancashires,  Northamptonshires,  9th  Lancers,  and 
Mounted  Infantry,  which  had  done  such  gallant  work 
in  the  previous  battles,  were  now  to  be  scattered,  and 
in  some  measure  supplanted,  by  the  Argylls,  Seaforths, 
Gordons,  Black  Watch,  and  Highland  Light  Infantry 
of  the  fresher  brigade.  They  were  to  take  the  centre, 
and  form  the  bulk  of  the  attacking  line  with  the 
Guards'  Brigade. 

The  King's  Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  the 
Mounted  Infantry,  and  the  5th  Fusiliers  were  to  form 
the  extreme  right,  and  part  of  the  Northampton  Regi- 
ment was  down  at  Graspan,  where  it  had  so  bravely 
resisted  those  Boers  who  had  cut  our  railway  line  and 
telegraph  only  a  few  days  before ;  but  the  bulk  of  the 
hardened  brigade  were  to  remain  in  the  Modder  River 
camp,  and  hold  this  position  against  a  rear  attack 
during  the  Maaghersfontein  combat. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  the  loth,  the  great  47 
gun,  with  its  crew  of  short  and  stocky  sailormen  in 
broad-rimmed  straw  hats  covered  with  khaki,  was 
dragged  by  thirty-six  oxen,  and  escorted  by  men  of 
the  5th  Fusiliers,  to  a  ridge  three  miles  north  of  this 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      177 

camp,  overlooking  the  kopje  infested  by  the  Boers. 
The  great  gun  shelled  the  hill  wherever  it  was  thought 
that  the  Boers  could  be  seen,  at  ranges  varying  between 
six  thousand  and  eight  thousand  yards. 

Shells  tore  through  the  air  with  precisely  the  noise 
of  an  express  train  rushing  at  full  speed,  and  when 
they  burst  they  seemed  to  envelope  an  acre  of  ground 
in  heavy  brown  smoke,  which  lifted  and  floated  over 
the  kopje  as  if  it  were  a  mass  of  the  pulverised  earth. 
It  was  said  that  windows  three  and  a  half  miles  away 
were  rattled  by  each  discharge.  The  noise  was  like 
the  bark  of  a  monster  bull-dog,  and  the  bursting  of  each 
shell  sounded  like  the  cough  of  a  giant. 

The  Tommies  dubbed  the  gun  ''Joey,"  and  thus 
introduced  humour  into  a  campaign  that  had  been 
strangely  deficient  in  that  helpful  element,  as  well  as 
placed  a  nickname  where  it  must  stick  while  this  war 
should  last. 

It  is  believed  that  our  shells  fell  among  the   Boers 

several  times  during  the  afternoon.    The  gun  remained 

on  the  ridge  all  night,  and  defined  the  extreme  left  of 

the  next  day's  battle-ground.     This  ground  extended 

from  the  railway  where  the  gun  stood,  along  the  ridge 

facing  the  Boer  kopje,  and  then,  when  the  ridge  ended, 

straight  over  the  veldt  to  the  river,  and  along  the  river 

two  miles,  to  the  southernmost  of  two  bridle  fords  to 

the  Free  State  side  of  the  stream. 

This  position  was  four  miles  long  from  railway  to 
12 


j/S  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

river,  and  two  miles  longer  beside  the  river.  The 
ground  was  different  from  any  on  which  we  had  fought 
before.  It  was  all  littered — ridges  and  veldt  alike — 
with  what  the  Boers  call  Vaal  bushes,  shapely  little 
trees  from  four  to  seven  feet  high,  of  round,  full,  gen- 
erous outline  and  dense  foliage,  every  leaf  in  which  is 
a  silvery  green. 

In  such  a  veldt  before  their  hill  the  Boers  had  two 
miles  of  trenches  full  of  men.  Beyond  this,  still  to 
the  right,  their  trenches  continued  across  the  more 
level  and  open  plain,  and  then  bent  at  right  angles, 
and  followed  the  river  on  our  side,  keeping  between  us 
and  it. 

Thus  the  trenches  protected  the  kopje  first,  and 
gave  the  Boers  freedom  to  move  behind  those  on  the 
level  veldt,  in  full  exposure,  yet  out  of  range  of  our 
fire,  so  that  they  could  get  to  a  waggon  ford  within 
their  lines,  and  across  the  river,  and  down  it  towards 
Jacobsdal. 

It  was  not  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  the  last 
troops  to  leave  the  camp  moved  forward  to  the  edge 
of  the  next  scene  of  battle  three  miles  away.  The 
Highland  Brigade  was  ordered  to  the  main  position, 
roughly  speaking  from  the  left  to  the  centre.  The 
Guards'  Brigade  was  to  continue  the  line  to  the  river 
on  the  right,  and  the  Yorkshires  held  the  drift  on  the 
extreme  right,  with  a  small  break  between  them  and 
the  Guards.     A  small  force  of  the   Mounted  Infantry 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      179 

supported  the  Yorkshires.  The  main  body  of  this 
mounted  troop  went  into  battle  with  the  Highland 
Brigade. 

At  about  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
after  a  rainy  and  bitterly  cold  night,  the  Highland 
Brigade,  led  by  General  Wauchope,  moved  down  upon 
the  veldt.  It  was  very  dark  and  still  intensely 
cold. 

The  men  advanced  in  quarter-column  order.  It  is 
not  a  matter  of  military  importance,  but  it  is  a  fact 
that  they  supposed  they  were  to  cross  the  veldt  and 
attack  the  enemy  on  the  kopje.  Therefore  it  hap- 
pened that  they  were  at  perfect  ease,  swinging  along 
without  a  thought  of  immediate  attack,  chatting — 
even  to  such  an  extent  that  their  officers  bade  them 
make  less  noise.  Neither  officers  nor  men  knew  of 
the  existence  of  the  formidable  trenches  that  ran  along 
the  veldt  in  front  of  them. 

By  one  of  those  unfortunate  and  irreparable  acci- 
dents which  happen  rarely  in  the  British  army  two  of 
the  men  loosed  their  guns  during  this  short  march,  and 
many  critics  and  historians  may  say  that  this  apprised 
the  Boers  of  the  British  approach.  It  is  my  belief, 
however,  based  on  good  authority,  that  the  Boers  em- 
ployed a  scout  to  walk  ahead  and  on  the  extreme 
right  of  the  British,  and  flash  a  light  when  they  reached 
a  certain  point  which  had  been  agreed  upon. 

The  Scotch  battalions — excepting  the  Gordons,  who 


i8o  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

did  not  go  into  battle  until  later — kept  in  quarter- 
column  formation,  and  meeting  a  line  of  Vaal  bushes, 
and  later  a  thicket  of  thorny  cactus,  deployed  out  of 
the  way  of  and  around  these. 

Suddenly  the  light  was  flashed  on  the  right,  a  Boer 
rifle  was  fired  on  the  left,  and  the  whole  long-hidden 
trench  belched  flame,  and  riddled  our  ranks  with  bul- 
lets. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  of  a  surprise,  more 
unexpected. 

A  panic  seized  the  troops,  and  would  have  possessed 
any  other  regiments  in  any  other  army — so  fearful  was 
the  fire,  so  completely  were  the  men  taken  off  their 
guard,  and  so  like  a  general  slaughter  must  it  have 
seemed  to  those  who  saw  their  comrades  dropping  on 
both  sides,  and  before  them. 

They  turned  and  ran,  literally  colliding  and  climbing 
over  one  another  in  their  confusion. 

A  chaplain  forward  in  the  ranks  was  knocked  down 
and  trampled ;  as  brave  a  man  as  any,  and  yet  one 
who  declared  that  there  lived  no  men  who  could  have 
behaved  differently. 

It  had  been  as  if  the  earth  had  opened,  and  from  a 
cleft  that  ran  as  far  as  our  men  reached  fire  had 
belched,  and  shot  had  swept  the  veldt. 

Out  of  two  companies  of  the  Black  Watch  only  fifty 
men  escaped ;  more  than  three  hundred  were  the 
casualties  in  that  regiment. 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      i8i 

It  was  the  same  with  the  Seaforths,  and  almost  the 
same  with  the  others. 

The  fever  of  fright  lasted  only  while  the  men  ran 
two  hundred  yards,  and  then  they  regained  some 
measure  of  order. 

Most  of  them  re-formed  their  ranks,  fell  under  the 
commands  of  their  officers,  and  faced  the  foe,  lying 
down  of  course,  as  must  be  the  case  in  such  warfare. 

Even  then  our  advance  line  was  only  three  hundred 
and  twenty  to  four  hundred  yards  from  the  trenches, 
so  close  had  the  Boers  allowed  us  to  approach  before 
they  revealed  themselves. 

In  this  incident  lay  the  pith  and  almost  the  sum  of 
the  battle  as  far  as  the  infantry  were  concerned.  Our 
casualties  at  the  end  of  a  day  of  fifteen  hours  were 
about  nine  hundred,  and  yet  not  above  a  hundred  of 
these  were  inflicted  upon  us  after  that  first  three  min- 
utes— three  minutes  which  saw  the  equal  of  a  battalion 
swept  away  ! 

Then  the  Guards'  Brigade  advanced  on  the  right  to 
a  point  at  which  they  could  have  demolished  a  visible 
enemy,  and  there  they  waged  hot  battle  all  that  day. 

The  Gordons  were  sent  forward  early  in  the  day, 
and  met  with  a  thrilling  adventure  at  the  start.  Their 
route  took  them  to  the  middle  of  the  field,  where  they 
passed  a  Boer  trench  without  provoking  attack,  or 
sign  of  its  existence.  After  they  had  gone  by,  and 
begun  to  meet  the   fierce  fire  of  the   foe  in  the  main 


i82  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

entrenchment  ahead  of  them,  the  Boers  in  the  rear 
trench,  who  were  slightly  to  the  right,  opened  an  en- 
filading fire,  so  that  they  were  battered  with  volleys 
from  front,  rear,  and  side.  They  fell  upon  their  faces 
after  a  loss  which  seems  trifling  beside  that  of  their 
compatriots  earlier  in  the  day — thirty  or  forty  casu- 
alties of  all  kinds. 

A  more  characteristic  incident,  far  more  agreeable 
to  record,  was  that  which  occurred  still  later  in  the 
day,  when  a  composite  party  of  Scotchmen — Argyles, 
Seaforths,  and  others — actually  advanced  to  the  Boer 
trenches,  inflicting  more  damage  than  they  suffered. 

But  it  was  an  artillery  fight,  and  had  been  planned 
as  such.  The  Boers  used  few  guns.  Taught  by  past 
experience  that  their  guns  have  played  a  small  part  as 
aids  to  them,  and  on  the  other  hand,  have  always 
drawn  heavy  and  accurate  fire  from  us,  they  brought 
only  four  into  action.  They  had  two  in  use  on  the 
kopje,  and  one  in  the  rear  of  their  centre  on  the  veldt, 
but  they  did  us  no  damage  with  cither. 

We,  on  the  other  hand,  made  splendid  use  of  our 
great  naval  gun,  our  howitzer  battery,  horse  artillery, 
and  three  field  batteries  of  the  Royal  Artillery.  The 
great  gun  directed  its  fire  mainly  on  the  kopje,  and 
we  were  told  afterwards  that  the  damage  it  did  was 
very  great.  It  is  said  that  one  shell  fell  among  forty 
Boers,  of  whom  only  five  remained  unhurt.  Another 
destroyed  a  laager.     It  seemed  that  by  the  close  of 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      183 

the  day  nearly  the  whole  face  of  the  hill  had  been 
under  this  fire. 

The  howitzer  battery  helped  in  the  work,  and  shelled 
the  trenches  as  well.  The  horse  artillery  was  actually 
brought  into  the  heavy  rifle  fire  of  the  enemy,  and 
raked  their  trenches  lengthwise  and  crosswise  with 
terrible  effect.  This  action  was  carried  out  in  the  very 
jaws  of  death,  and  then,  as  from  our  first  battle  to  our 
last,  the  pluck  and  intrepidity  of  our  artillerymen  im- 
pressed every  soldier  among  us. 

At  half-past  four  o'clock  large  numbers  of  Boers 
were  seen  leaving  the  farther  side  of  the  kopje,  and 
moving  toward  the  river  and  Free  State  border. 
Whether  they  were  retreating,  which  was  probably 
the  fact,  or  were  setting  out  to  attempt  a  flank  attack 
upon  our  position,  we  did  not  know.  That  such  an 
attack  was  in  their  minds  we  strongly  suspected.  At 
all  events,  they  found  the  Guards  and  the  King's  Own 
Yorkshires  controlling  the  drifts,  and  stoutly  resisting 
the  Boer  fire  all  along  the  river.  A  very  fierce  attack 
was  made  upon  their  extreme  right  in  an  undoubted 
effort  to  break  through  our  line  and  flank  us. 

Five  companies  of  the  Yorkshires  were  moved  up  to 
support  them  at  this  point,  and  the  Boers  abandoned 
their  project.  The  Yorkshiremen  had  not  disappointed 
those  who  had  learned  to  look  to  them  for  valorous 
activity  in  every  fight.  They  had  been  sent  to  guard 
a  drift,  and  had  found  the  Boers  not  only  holding  it, 


i84  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

but  also  in  possession  of  a  ridge  and  two  houses  that 
were  upon  it  well  on  the  near  side  of  the  river.  The 
Yorkshiremen  stormed  this  ridge  and  took  it.  Their 
casualties  for  the  whole  day  were  only  nine.  Lord 
Methuen  complimented  them  upon  their  part  in  the 
battle. 

On  this  part  of  the  field— the  extreme  right — the 
mounted  infantry  were  bringing  in  the  wounded  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  day,  when  the  Boers  attacked 
them  furiously.  Three  of  the  mounted  infantry — all 
men  of  the  Yorkshire  Regiment  serving  in  the  mounted 
corps — are  declared  to  have  made  it  possible  for  this 
humane  work  to  continue.  They  are  Sergeant  Cassen, 
Lance-Corporal  Bennett,  and  Private  Mawhood.  They 
knelt  down  time  after  time  in  the  open,  and  with  utter 
disregard  for  their  own  lives  did  all  they  could  by 
firing  continuously  and  steadily. 

There  was  no  lack  of  courage  on  that  great  field, 
and  it  distinguished  high  and  humble  alike.  Now  it 
was  the  colonel  of  the  Gordons  standing  erect  and 
calling  on  his  men  until  a  bullet  felled  him ;  now  the 
Scotch  private,  who  w^as  found  with  his  foot  smashed, 
and  was  carried  away  by  stretcher-bearers,  while  he 
loudly  protested  that  he  had  been  wounded  twelve 
hours,  had  kept  on  fighting  all  the  time,  and  was  still 
as  fit  as  any  man  to  face  the  foe. 

At  sundown  our  infantry  retired.  It  is  true  that  a 
large  fraction — the  major  part,  perhaps — of  the  Boers 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      185 

had  done  the  same  an  hour  earlier.  They  fired  a  few 
shells  at  us  as  we  withdrew,  and  our  guns  answered 
them,  and  so  were  able  to  claim  the  last  notes  in  the 
tumult  of  battle. 

On  the  next  day  and  the  next  we  gathered  in  our 
dead ;  roughly  speaking  but  little  over  a  hundred, 
though  scattered  over  six  miles  of  the  veldt.  The 
Boers  searched  our  ambulance  and  stretcher  men,  and 
blindfolded  all  whose  duty  led  them  near  the  trenches. 
Unfortunately,  one  man  was  found  with  a  revolver 
upon  him,  and  he  and  the  surgeon-major  in  charge  of  the 
party  were  taken  prisoners,  and  led  into  the  Boer  camp. 

But  for  his  manner,  the  Red  Cross  man  who  had 
carried  a  pistol  might  have  been  set  free  as  the  doctor 
was,  but  he  irritated  the  Boers,  and  they  sent  him  to 
Pretoria.  This  incident  over,  the  relations  between 
the  Boers  and  our  ambulance  people  assumed  a  very 
agreeable  phase.  The  Boers  were  courteous,  helpful, 
and  respectful.  By  not  one  word  did  they  give  of- 
fence. This  was  evidently  the  effect  of  our  unfailing 
fairness  throughout  the  war,  of  our  generosity  when 
they  asked  for  medical  aid  after  earlier  battles,  of  the 
dignified  tone  in  which  Lord  IMethuen  had  complained 
of  their  earlier  breaches  of  the  conventions  of  civilised 
warfare. 

Unquestionably  the  most  shocking  episode  of  the 
war  on  the  western  side  of  the  continent  was  the  dis- 
aster to  the  Highland  Brigade  at  Maaghersfontein. 


i86  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

The  catastrophe  was  so  peculiar  that,  had  the  cen- 
sorship permitted  an  account  of  it  to  be  cabled  home, 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  deal  with  it.  There 
were  two  good  reasons  for  this.  In  the  first  place,  it 
was  no  easy  matter  to  judge  how  much  could  be  made 
public  without  lasting  injury  to  the  Scotch  regiments, 
for  the  shock  they  suffered  was  far  greater  than  has 
been  made  known. 

Lord  Methuen,  too,  maintained  absolute  silence, 
while  the  Scotch  camps  rang  with  criticism,  and  even 
denunciation,  of  the  part  he  was  suspected  of  having 
taken.  This  was  natural  In  men  who  had  suffered  as 
they  had — indeed,  even  if  it  was  misapplied,  their 
strength  of  feeling  at  such  a  moment  did  them 
credit. 

The  truth,  and.  In  all  probability,  a  great  deal  be- 
yond the  truth,  respecting  certain  phases  of  the  disas- 
ter has  been  exploited  in  published  letters,  written  by 
private  soldiers  to  their  people  at  home,  and  there  is 
no  longer  need  for  such  reticence  as  was  reasonable 
before  these  events  had  passed  into  the  province  of 
history.  Even  now,  without  Lord  Methuen's  version, 
the  sad  story  must  be  incomplete. 

The  Scotch  maintain  that  when  General  Wauchope 
returned  to  his  quarters  on  the  night  before  the 
battle,  after  receiving  his  orders  from  Lord  Methuen, 
he  was  seen  to  be  troubled. 

To  one  of  his  Intimates  he  Is  said  to  have  remarked 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      187 

that  his  instructions  were  so  vague  that  he  protested, 
and  asked  for  fuller,  more  definite  orders,  and  that 
Lord  Methuen  was  displeased,  and  in  reply  reminded 
him  that  as  chief  in  command  he  had  given  what  orders 
seemed  best  to  him. 

The  Scotch  account  goes  on  to  say  that  in  obedi- 
ence to  these  orders  the  Brigade  was  moved  forward 
into  battle  in  quarter-column  formation. 

During  the  march  it  is  said  that  General  Wauchope 
exclaimed  more  than  once,  ''  this  is  madness  !  "  Fi- 
nally, just  before  the  disaster,  he  declared  again  that 
to  advance  as  he  was  doing,  in  close  formation,  against 
an  unlocated  enemy,  was  mad  business,  and  that, 
orders  or  no  orders,  he  would  spread  his  men  out  in 
open  formation. 

He  gave  the  order.  It  was  carried  to  the  first  bat- 
talion, the  Black  Watch,  but  before  it  could  be  exe- 
cuted the  troops  "  found  themselves  in  a  butcher's 
shop,"  as  one  Scotch  Tommy  expressed  it. 

Some  have  said  that  the  Boers  had  allowed  our 
men  to  approach  to  within  fifty  yards  of  their 
trenches,  but  the  distance  varies  with  every  account 
from  fifty  to  three  hundred  yards.  The  men,  who 
were  seized  with  panic,  saw  their  comrades  fall  on 
either  side  and  in  front  of  them,  and — they  ran. 

It  is  needless  to  enlarge  upon  that  distressing  event. 
They  ran  back.  They  were  ov^ercomc.  They  did 
not   distinguish  between  their  officers  and  their  com- 


i88  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

rades.  There  was  panic,  disorder,  chaos.  They  had 
suffered  a  surprise  and  a  shock  such  as  perhaps  no  such 
mass  of  men  has  known  in  modern  times. 

Whoever  criticises  them  must  remember  that  on 
many  terrible  fields,  through  a  long  and  glorious  his- 
tory, they  have  won  the  right  to  be  regarded  as  among 
the  bravest  troops  in  the  world. 

When  the  disaster  occurred  —  according  to  the 
Scotch  story — General  Wauchope  said,  "  I  hope  my 
men  will  not  hold  me  responsible  for  this." 

Whether  he  was  shot  early  in  the  struggle  or  some 
hours  later  no  one  appears  to  be  certain.  Most  of  his 
faithful  followers  think  that  he  was  among  the  first  to 
die,  but  I  have  never  heard  that  this  pious  belief  rests 
upon  the  word  of  any  witness. 

On  the  other  hand,  one  private  declares  that  some 
hours  after  the  first  shock  of  the  fight  the  General, 
restive  under  the  too-prolonged  tension  caused  by  the 
incessant  fire  of  the  Boers,  declared  that  he  was  going 
to  jump  up,  run  back,  and  reassume  the  active  con- 
duct of  his  brigade.  He  did  so,  according  to  this  ac- 
count, accompanied  by  four  other  men,  two  of  whom 
were  slain  then  with  their  brave  General.  I  cannot 
vouch  for  either  account  from  my  own  knowledge,  but 
just  as  one  refrains  from  painting  the  complete  picture 
of  the  consequences  of  the  first  shock  to  the  High- 
landers, so  must  one  curb  all  inclination  to  picture 
the  subsequent    grief   of  the    Brigade,  and  its  anger 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      189 

against  those  to  whom  the  men  attributed  their  ill 
fortune. 

Two  points  must  be  cleared  up  before  the  full  truth 
can  be  got  at.  First,  did  or  did  not  General  Wauchope 
believe  he  was  to  advance  a  great  distance  farther  than 
the  point  where  he  was  attacked,  to  an  entirely  differ 
ent  part  of  the  field,  over  to  the  right  of  the  kopje  and 
around  it  ?  Next,  did  he  know  that  the  Boers  were 
intrenched  on  the  veldt  in  front  of  the  kopje ;  or 
did  Methuen  know  this  and  omit  to  make  it  clear  to 
Wauchope  ? 

Outside  the  Scotch  Brigade  it  is  said  that  both  the 
Lieutenant-General  and  the  Brigadier-General  knew 
the  fact,  but  the  Scotch  are  convinced  this  was  not 
the  case,  and  so,  rather  than  trespass  on  angry  ground, 
it  is  best  to  leave  the  question  open,  as  indeed  it  is. 

More  absurdities,  and  even  downright  inventions 
and  lies,  have  been  current  about  this  matter  than 
about  anything  else  that  has  taken  place  in  the  war, 
but  as  I  have  enjoyed  peculiar  facilities  for  learning 
whatever  is  reliable,  I  trust  that  my  statement  of 
what  actually  took  place  will  be  found  to  be  so  clear, 
and  void  of  ornament  and  bias,  as  not  to  call  for 
contradiction  or  correction  in  any  important  detail. 

Some  idea  of  the  terrors  of  the  situation  in  which 
the  Highlanders  found  themselves,  while  marching 
wholly  unprepared  for  assault,  may  be  gained  from 
the    following   figures,  the    record    of  a    surprise   and 


[go 


TOWARDS  PRETORIA 


attack  which  lasted  only  a  minute,  or  at  the  most 
three  minutes.  The  much  slighter  losses  of  the  Gor- 
dons, who  escaped  this  awful  trap,  are  purposely 
excluded  from  the  calculation. 


Regiment. 

Officers 

and  Men 

Killed. 

Wounded. 

Missing. 

Prisoners. 

Total 

2nd  Black  Watch 

Highland  Light  Infantr3^ 

ist  Argyll  &  Sutherland- 
shires 

73 
15 
26 
48 

218   ' 

77 

61 

141 

38 

3 

18 

.5 

I 

8 

354 
95 
91 

2nd  Seaforths 

212 

Totals 

162 

497 

59  = 

34  = 

752 

It  must  be  understood  distinctly  that  quite  a  differ- 
ent account  of  this  disaster  is  given  by  the  men  of  the 
42nd,  or  Black  Watch,  who  deny  that  they  can  be 
justly  associated  with  the  panic  which  seized  portions 
of  the  brigade. 

They  insist  that  they  had  already  begun  to  carry 
out  General  Wauchope's  order  for  a  wider  and  looser 
formation,  and  that  when  the  shock  came  their  ranks 

^  In  this  number  (218)  are  10  wounded  men  taken  prisoners  by  the 
Boers. 

2  The  Boers  took  79  prisoners,  including  10  wounded  and  14  whose 
names  were  given  to  the  British  immediately  after  the  battle.  The  names 
of  the  rest  were  not  known  to  the  enemy.  They  claimed  to  have  buried 
1 5  Highlanders,  and  this  number,  with  the  45  prisoners  whose  names 
were  not  known,  would  account  for  one  more  than  the  59  missing. 


BATTLE  OF  MAAGHERSFONTEIN      191 

were  over-lapping  at  the  ends,  as  one  moved  forward 
to  extend  the  one  in  front. 

They  assert  that  they  then  lay  down,  and  kept  their 
position,  very  few  joining  inAhe  retiring  movement. 

They  say  further  that  the  men  of  their  battalion, 
who  were  found  dead  in  such  numbers  close  to  the 
Boer  trenches,  were  not  killed  by  the  first  surprising 
fire,  but  met  death  during  the  after-course  of  the 
battle. 

The  Seaforths  also-  claim  to  have  held  their  position 
through  the  awful  catastrophe,  and  an  ofBcer  of  note, 
whose  name  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  mention,  says  that 
it  seems  to  him  that  the  Black  Watch  and  the  Sea- 
forths presented  very  nearly  their  full  strength,  as  he 
saw  them  shortly  after  the  great  shock. 

This  ofYicer  received  some  orders  from  General 
Wauchope  soon  after  the  surprise.  He  went  off  to 
deliver  them,  returned  in  a  very  few  minutes,  and 
could  then  see  nothing  of  the  General.  He  himself 
fell  wounded  at  the  moment,  and  knows  no  more. 

There  are  as  many  stories  as  there  were  men  in  the 
battle,  and  I  pass  over  all  but  the  above,  which  come 
from  such  sources,  and  are  so  blended  with  a  demand 
for  justice  to  those  who  missed  the  panic,  that  I  in- 
clude them  rather  than  even  seem  unfair. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   MESS   OF   THE   WESSEX   FUSILIERS 

It  was  interesting,  when  no  actual  fighting  was  afoot, 
to  notice  the  social  habits  of  our  gallant  officers. 

We  are  at  mess  with,  let  us  say,  the  Wessex  Fusiliers. 

This  officers'  mess  is  very  proud  of  itself,  because  it 
has  commandeered  a  lot  of  boards,  and  built  a  table 
twenty  feet  long  and  three  feet  wide,  with  a  bench 
running  along  either  side  of  it.  Next  it  has  borrowed 
the  canvas  cover  of  an  ammunition  waggon,  and  spread 
this  out  over  six  posts  so  as  to  shade  the  table  at  high 
noon. 

In  the  morning  the  fierce  African  sun  blinds  all  who 
are  on  the  southern  side  of  the  table,  and  in  the  after- 
noon the  ferocious  glow  of  it  broils  and  dizzies  all  who 
sit  on  the  northern  bench.  If  we  move  our  legs  along 
the  boards  we  get  splinters  in  them.  If  we  lean  on  the 
table  w^e  get  jam-stains  on  our  khaki  sleeves.  But 
that  doesn't  matter  much  now.  If  you  had  lost 
a  company  in  three  rounds  of  the  war,  if  you  had 
missed  your  bravest  companions,  and  sent  their  things 

home  to  their  wives,  or  down  to  the  hospital  at  Wyn- 
192 


MESS  OF  THE  WESSEX  FUSILIERS    193 

berg,  if  you  thought  the  chances  were  that  you  would 
not  be  alive  yourself  the  day  after  to-morrow,  what 
would  you  care  whether  you  ripped  your  breeches  on 
a  nail,  or  whether  it  was  marmalade  or  Cape  jam  that 
has  stuck  your  coat-sleeve  to  the  table  ? 

The  colonel  is  a  stickler  for  promptness.  If  you  arc 
going  to  sit  with  frizzled  eyeballs  at  his  mess,  if  you 
are  going  to  tear  your  breeches  and  soil  your  sleeves 
at  his  table  you  must  be  there  sharp  at  six.  Then  you 
will  be  invited  up  close  to  him,  where  you  can  use  his 
funny  little  mustard-pot  that  looks  like  a  box  of  oint- 
ment, and  you  can  borrow  his  big  tablespoon  to  stir 
your  sugar  in  your  tea,  while  the  majors  and  the  cap- 
tains look  on  green  with  envy — and  maybe  the  colonel 
will  fill  his  sparklet  with  diluted  mud  and  a  Mauser 
bullet  full  of  carbolic  gas,  to  drive  your  whisky  and 
mud  and  sand  down  your  throat — your  chicken-like 
throat  which  has  swallowed  sand  until  it  might  be  a 
tube  of  emery-paper. 

"  Don't  walk  on  the  windward  side  of  the  table — 
you,  I  mean,"  says  the  colonel  to  a  soldier  servant. 
*' What's  your  name?  Well,  you're  always  kicking 
up  the  sand  and  letting  it  blow  all  over  our  food." 
(Then  turning  to  his  guests) :  "  Now,  in  India,  the 
native  servants " 

"  I  heard  the  firing  this  afternoon,"  says  the  major 
to  a  captain  across  the  table  ;  "  scouting  party  of  the 
Lancers,  eh  ?     Any  one  hurt  ?  " 
13 


194  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"  All  got  away  but  one,"  says  the  captain.  "  Dum- 
fries was  killed  with  the  first  shot.  At  that  the  others 
ran — except  a  private,  who  dragged  the  captain  out 
of  range.  But  he  was  dead ;  they  only  saved  his 
body." 

"  What's  that  ?"  says  the  colonel;  "  not  Dumfries, 
who  led  those  fellows  so  well  at  Belmont  ?  I'm  really 
very  sorry." 

"  He  was  cousin  to  Mannering  of  '  ours,'  sir,"  says 
somebody  at  the  far  end  of  the  table,  ''  and  Manner- 
ing had  invited  him  to  dine  here  to-night." 

"  Really,  sir,"  says  the  major,  "  that  cook  of  ours 
does  make  excellent  soup.  Never  tasted  better  in  my 
life." 

"  Bolter  always  said  so,  too,"  says  the  colonel. 
**  Harris,  you  saw  the  adjutant  last.  How  is  he  ?  Not 
very  serious,  I  hope." 

"  The  doctor  told  me  he  could  not  rejoin  us  for  some 
months, sir;  he's  pretty  bad." 

**  Ah,"  says  the  colonel ;  ''  he'll  hate  to  lose  the  rest 
of  this.  All  the  men  will  miss  him,  but  not  so  much 
as  he  will  miss  seeing  this  show  out." 

"  By  George,"  say  I  ;  "  what  is  war  ?  Is  it  dehu- 
manising? What  is  soldiering?  Does  it  make  men 
wooden?  Here  I've  been  miserably  broken  up  for 
days  about  the  adjutant,  and  you  talk  about  his  get- 
ting three  serious  wounds  as  you  would  talk  about  an 
eclipse  of  the  moon." 


MESS  OF  THE  WESSEX  FUSILIERS     lyS 

"  Don't  misjudge  us,"  says  the  captain  next  to  me. 
"  We  are  used  to  killing  and  wounding,  and  we  learn 
to  seem  to  treat  it  lightly.  It's  only  seeming,  I  assure 
you.  If  a  man's  shot  here  in  battle  we  say  little  be- 
cause we  have  to  set  an  example  to  the  subalterns 
and  the  men.  Nothing  else  would  do.  If  men  of  less 
intimacy  with  us  died  on  the  polo  ground,  or  in  their 
beds  at  home,  and  we  were  in  times  of  peace,  you 
would  see  whether  we  are  wood " 

'^Thesoupis  good  enough,"  says  a  voice  half-way 
down  the  table,  *'  but  It's  nothing — it's  not  a  patch  on 
the  way  Weldon  would  cook  it.  Devil  as  he  is  in 
barracks,  and  up  to  mischief  as  he  is — up  to  his  neck 
— when  nothing's  on,  he  is  a  wonder  to  cook." 

"  Gentlemen,"  says  the  colonel,  "  there  are  no  smokes 
in  the  mess.  We  have  sent  to  Logan's  car,  and  there 
are  none  to  be  had  there.  But  I  have — Bedford,  get 
my  cigarettes  from  out  of  my  dickshee  in  my  tent. 
They  are  done  up  in  a  towel  under  the  dishes  because 
some  pilferer — some  Kaffir,  I  suspect — took  my  other 
box.  When  they  come  I'll  ask  each  of  you  to  take 
two  and  pass  the  box  along.  Why,  Major — bless  me, 
I  thought  you  were  not  coming.  Gentlemen,  Major 
Downrig.  We  have  finished  dinner.  Really,  you 
should  come  at  the  proper  time.  I  told  you  twice 
that  we  dine  sharp  at  six.  However,  if  you  will  come 
late  you  must  not  expect  anything.  Bedford — Bed- 
ford !  where  the    deuce   is   Bedford  ?     I   say,    Private 


T96  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

Hammond,  go  and  tell  the  mess  sergeant  that  I  have 
a  friend  to  dine  with  me,  and  I  hope  there  is  some 
soup — the  soup  was  excellent.  Major,  but  now  it  is 
probably  like  ice  water  and  tallow — and,  Hammond, 
tell  the  sergeant  to  serve  whatever  there  is.  The 
potatoes  were  very  fine — and  there  should  be  some  of 
that  rabbit  the  men  caught — and  bring  back  the 
pickles.  Major,  you  really  should  not  come  at  half- 
past  seven  when  dinner  is  at  six." 

''  Upon  my  word,  it  is  too  bad,"  the  major  replied  ; 
"  but,  you  see,  it  was  for  all  the  world  like  going  back 
to  Tirah.  I  was  out  with  Colonel  Rose  to  locate  a 
place  for  a  heliograph,  and  suddenly  we  were  being 
sniped.  We  had  two  of  Rimington's  men  with  us, 
and  one  was  copped,  and  the  other  had  his  horse  shot, 
and  then  he  was  bowled  over  himself,  dead  as  a  door- 
nail." 

"  By  Jove  !  you  don't  say  ?  " 

**  But  I  do,  and  I  was  an  hour  getting  help,  and 
getting  the  body  away.  However,  we  got  it,  and 
here  we  are,  thank  God,  and  I'm  none  the  worse, 
though  they  did  give  us  a  surprise — that  I  can  swear. 
Why,  how  do  you  do,  Mr.  Daily  Mail?  Thank  you 
very  much  for  the  Nestors.  'Pon  my  word,  I  never 
can  thank  you  enough.  I  was  down  to  Boer  tobacco 
when  you  sent  them — and  I'm  the  man  who  swore 
that  if  any  man  smoked  Boer  tobacco  in  my  club  I'd 
cut  him,  if  he  was  my  best  friend." 


MESS  OF  THE  WESSEX  FUSILIERS    197 

It  was  my  pet  dandy,  and  I  had  not  recognised  him 
■ — the  man  I  used  to  see  at  Orange  River,  in  new  khaki 
serge,  with  blazing  stars  on  his  shoulders,  with  lustrous 
buttons,  with  gaiters  and  boots  freshly  dressed  twice 
a  day,  with  gloves — the  only  man  who  wore  gloves  as 
far  north  as  Orange  River  ;  with  rings,  and  a  jewelled 
flask,  and  a  provoking  habit  of  taking  everybody  to 
his  tent  to  see  his  Pasteur  filter  and  his  aluminium 
eating  kit  ;  the  dazzling  dandy  of  Methuen's  column. 

And  now — now  that  dandies  are  as  extinct  as  dodoes 
— is  it  any  wonder  I  did  not  know  him  ?  His  stars 
were  gone.  His  buttons  were  dingy.  His  coat  was 
stained,  and  the  left-hand  pocket  was  torn  half-way 
down.  His  single  eyeglass  was  as  murky  as  a  White- 
chapel  window  in  December.  He  had  not  shaved  for 
weeks.  He  was  sitting  on  splinters,  and  leaning  on 
Cape  jam,  and  he  didn't  care.  He  was  like  the  rest  of 
us — dirty,  shabby,  unkempt,  unshorn.  He  was  capa- 
ble of  writing  to  the  Hon.  Lady  Anne  Broadstairs, 
but  not  of  letting  her  see  him.  He  was  like  the  rest 
of  us,  blending  with  the  veldt,  melting  into  the  desert 
colour,  going  without  a  razor,  a  bath,  or  a  brush  of 
any  sort.  But  he  was  none  the  worse  for  that,  and, 
pray  God,  may  no  one  think  any  of  us  are. 

''  I  always  shave  before  going  into  action,"  said  the 
colonel,  "  on  account  of  the  example  to  the  men." 

"  I  used  to,"  said  the  major,  ''  till  the  men  stole  my 
razors.     But,   'pon  honour,  old   man,   I    do   wash.     I 


198  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

washed  all  over — let  me  see  when  it  was.  Oh,  yes,  it 
was  at  Honey  Nest  Kloof,  the  day  before  Modder 
River  fight.  I  got  two  buckets,  and  went  out  two 
hundred  yards  away  from  the  camp,  and  I  stripped 
and — no,  first  I  washed  my  undershirt  and  shirt  in 
one  pail,  and  then  I  washed  myself.  It  was  a  rude 
shock  to  me,  but  no  harm  came  of  it." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  PADRE  AND   OUR   FRIEND  THE  ENEMY 

The  man  of  us  all  who  knew  the  foe  best  was  Padre 
Robertson,  chaplain  of  the  Highland  Brigade,  welcome 
mess-fellow  with  valiant  Wauchope,  man  among  men, 
and  man  of  God. 

Towards  the  close  of  each  battle,  before  the  Boers 
had  done  killing  us,  and  before  we  had  stopped  firing 
at  nothing  all  day  long,  Padre  Robertson  mounted  a 
horse  and  rode  over  to  the  enemy's  lines  to  ask  per- 
mission to  gather  in  our  dead  and  wounded. 

**  I  knew  they  wouldn't  harm  me,"  he  said  to  me 
once,  •*  because  they  could  see  by  my  riding  right  up 
to  them  that  I  was  either  a  minister  or  a  madman." 

Ah,  but  there's  good  stuff  in  our  padres !     Think  of 

the  behaviour  of  the  one  called  Hill  at  Belmont.     The 

Grenadiers  were  still  scaling  the  steep  and  rocky  kopje 

like   flies,    and    the   leaden   drift    of  bullets  was  still 

whistling  down   from   the  Boer  eyries  as  the  wind  of 

a  gale  searches  the  deck  and  rigging  of  a  ship.     But 

Padre  Hill  was  there,  moving  from  man  to  man,  lifting 

a  head  here,  and  giving  water  there,  and,  once,  actually 

199 


200  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

standing  up,  book  in  hand,  reading  the  office  for  the 
dying. 

"  Go  back,  padre,  go  back  !  '^  said  an  officer,  "  this  is 
no  place  for  a  man  of  your  calling ;  you've  no  right  to 
risk  your  life  here.' 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  I'm  in  my  right  place  here." 

But,  as  I  was  about  to  say,  Padre  Robertson  went 
over  to  the  Boer  lines  either  three  or  four  days  after 
the  battle  of  Maaghersfontein,  and  got  to  know  more 
about  the  enemy  in  action  than  any  man  I  have  yet 
seen.  He  told  me  that  there  were  Englishmen,  Irish- 
men, and  Scotchmen  among  them,  as  well  as  the  mer- 
cenary Germans  and  Scandinavians,  serving  for  a  gold 
Kruger  a  day — which  is  to  say  a  pound  sterling  Dutch. 
He  found  ministers  among  them  of  the  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian, or  Dutch  Reformed,  faith,  who  got  their 
professional  training  in  Scotland.  Everybody  was 
courteous  to  our  padre,  and  he  found  many  well-dressed 
men  of  polished  manners,  distinctly  men  of  the  better 
class.  Some  tried  to  argue,  saying  that  the  war  was 
being  waged  for  the  sake  of  a  few  capitaHsts  and 
mining  speculators,  but  our  padre  would  not  argue. 

^'  I  am  neither  a  politeecian  nor  a  soldier,"  said  he, 
with  his  rich  accent,  "  I  am  but  joost  a  meenister  o' 
God,  come  to  fetch  away  the  dead." 

They  blindfolded  all  the  ambulancemen  and  stretch- 
er-bearers who  were  obliged  to  go  within  five  hun- 
dred yards  of  their  trenches,  and  led  them  hither  and 


THE  PADRE  AND  THE  ENEMY        201 

thither  to  gather  the  dead,  but  they  did  not  bb'ndfold 
the  padre.  Nor  did  they  put  him  under  oath  as  to 
what  he  might  tell  or  hide.  One  day  they  said  that  if 
he  would  give  his  word  to  bring  back  a  list  of  the 
Boers  taken  by  us  they  would  furnish  such  a  list  of 
the  English  whom  they  held. 

He  carried  out  his  promise,  and  perceived  that  they 
have  a  nearly  perfect  identification  department,  and 
system  of  tracing  all  who  are  in  their  army,  no  matter 
what  befalls  them  ;  and  this  is  a  department  not  pos- 
sessed by  every  other  army  in  the  world,  to  put  the 
case  so  as  not  to  offend  any  one  in  particular. 

It  has  been  told  how,  when  this  humane  work  was 
going  on,  on  the  morning  after  the  day  of  battle,  our 
big  naval  gun  burst  out,  and  flung  a  lyddite  shell  over 
into  the  enemy's  lines.  The  Boers  were  surprised  and 
nonplussed  at  that,  but  the  padre  assured  them  it  was 
all  a  mistake,  and  cantered  back  to  his  own  lines  to 
have  the  firing  stopped. 

"You'll  become  a  Boer  yet,"  said  an  officer  of  high 
rank,  "  if  you  keep  going  over  to  them  after  each 
fight." 

"  No  fear  of  that,"  said  the  padre,  ''but  I'm  bound 
to  say  they've  been  very  courteous  and  good  and  kind 
to  me,  and  very  helpful  as  well." 

His  experiences  in  that  field  were  almost  too  shock- 
ing for  description.  The  sun  was  playing  havoc  with 
the  dead,  and  the  ambulance  men,  uninspired  with  the 


202  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

fervent  zeal  of  our  padre,  turned  sick,  and  were  only 
kept  in  a  condition  to  work  by  a  liberal  supply  of  spirits. 

On  the  final  day  even  the  padre  was  overcome,  and 
then — what  do  you  think?  Some  kindly  Boers  came 
out  of  the  trenches  and  held  his  head,  until  the  first 
violence  of  the  nausea  was  spent. 

From  an  ambulance  man  I  heard  an  anecdote  of 
quaint  flavour.  The  Boers  rode  out  to  him  and  chatted 
with  him  as  he  did  his  work. 

"  Have  you  any  water  in  your  bottle?"  they  asked, 
adding,  "  we  are  very  thirsty." 

The  Briton  said  he  had  water  in  one  bottle,  and 
whisky  and  water  in  another. 

'*  ril  give  you  the  whisky  and  water,"  said  he,  "  if 
you'll  say,  '  God  bless  the  Queen.'  " 

"  We've  no  objection,"  one  Boer  replied ;  "  we've 
nothing  against  the  Queen.     Let's  have  the  whisky." 

He  lifted  the  khaki-clad  bottle,  drank,  and  said, 
"  God  bless  the  Queen."  The  second  man  took  the 
bottle,  drank  a  deep  draught,  and  echoed  the  prayer 
of  the  first.  The  third  man  kept  the  promise — but  in 
a  peculiar  way.  He  drank,  and,  pausing  before  he 
handed  back  the  bottle,  said,  "  God  bless  the  Queen, 
and Cecil  Rhodes." 

I  talked  to  several  of  our  men  during  the  days  when 
we  were  taking  in  our  dead  and  wounded,  and  heard 
much  about  the  Boers.  Not  one  had  been  seen  to 
wear  a  uniform.     They  were  clad  precisely  as  so  many 


THE  PADRE  AND  THE  ENEMY        203 

men  would  be  if  gathered  up  in  city  streets  and  country 
roads.  After  they  left  the  trenches  it  was  seen  that 
every  man  had  a  horse,  that  nearly  all  the  horses  were 
very  good  ones,  and  that  the  Boers  sat  them  like  cen- 
taurs, "so  graceful  and  easy-like,"  as  one  man  put  it. 

When  we  get  to  the  point  where  we  can  write  and 
speak  freely  of  the  Boer's  defects,  it  will  be  time  to 
tell  the  other  side  of  the  story  of  the  Boer  upon  the 
battle-field.  For  there  is  another  side — no  matter  how 
"gude  and  helpfu'  and  courteous"  they  have  been  to 
brave  Padre  Robertson. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

CHRISTMAS   WITH    METHUEN'S   ARMY 

*'  The  Boers  are  going  to  their  homes  to  spend 
Christmas,"  was  the  news  we  read  one  day  from  all 
the  points  where  our  armies  were  centred.  Some  men 
might  have  been  cross,  or  even  jealous,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances ;  but  we  saw  the  humour  of  the  situation, 
realising  that  even  if  we  could  slip  out  of  our  trenches 
to  foregather  with  our  loved  ones  at  home,  we  should 
have  to  travel  four  weeks,  and  seven  thousand  miles  to 
clasp  hands  with  them. 

Of  course,  we  of  Lord  Methuen's  army  celebrated 
the  day  after  our  own  fashion,  and  worked  ourselves 
up  to  enjoy  it  almost  as  if  it  were  the  genuine  article. 

I  shall  describe  the  day  in  camp,  and  though  most 
of  its  features  were  precisely  the  same  as  they  would 
have  been  on  any  other  day,  the  record  may  be  none 
the  less  interesting  on  that  account. 

After  you  have  lived  in  a  tent  a  few  weeks,  if  you 

can  call  it  living,  the  untying  of  the  flap  is  as  certain 

to  wake  you  as  would  be  the  smashing  in  of  your  front 

door  in  London.     You  hear  the  strings  being  pulled 
204 


CHRISTMAS  WITH  METHUEN'S  ARMY  205 

out  of  their  bow  knots,  and  presently  there  is  the 
squeezing,  surging  noise  of  a  man  pushing  his  way  in, 
as  if  you  were  living  in  a  drum,  and  he  was  breaking 
through  it.  He  is  your  soldier  servant,  and  he  re- 
marks, '*  Gun  fire,  sir  ;  I've  brought  your  cocoa,  sir." 

Your  soldier  servant !  What  a  good  fellow  he  is ! 
You  were  told  before  you  took  him  into  your  employ 
at  eighteenpence  a  day  that  he  was  not  precisely  with- 
out a  mark  against  his  name,  that  at  home  in  barracks 
he  was  one  of  the  dare-devils  of  the  battalion — apt  to 
slip  out  of  a  second  or  third  story  window,  and  come 
back  tipsy,  and  say  to  some   ofificer  he  met,  ''  Good 

morning,  sir;  you're  a good  soldier,  sir."     But  if 

you  didn't  mind  these  eccentricities,  and  would  employ 
him,  you  would  find  him  willing,  clever,  respectful, 
worth  his  weight  in  gold  as  a  servant,  precisely  as  he 
is  worth  the  same  amount  as  a  fighting  man. 

"■  And  I  have  brought  your  cocoa,  sir,"  he  says.  "  I 
was  out  on  picket  all  night,  sir ;  but  I  got  sent  in  this 
morning  ahead  of  the  rest  with  a  message,  sir.  Had  a 
bit  of  fun  last  night,  sir.  My  captain  happened  to 
mention  that  he  might  be  hungry  an  hour  or  two  after 
dark,  as  he  hadn't  had  nothing  all  day.  So  me  and 
another  chap  we  came  across  a  house,  and  we  came 
across  a  duck  and  a  pigeon  and  a  hen,  and  then  we 
looked  for  some  vegetables,  and  came  across  some 
potatoes  and  onions  and  carrots.  And  then  we  came 
across  a  pot  to  cook  'em  in,  and  a  couple  of  plates,  sir 


2o6  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

— which  came  in  very  handy.  And  when  the  captain 
came  along  he  said  we  gave  him  the  finest  '  raggoo  '  he 
believed  he  had  ever  eat,  sir.  He  said  he  wouldn't 
ask  no  questions  how  we  had  come  across  such  things 
as  was  in  the  *  raggoo,'  and  as  he  didn't  ask  any  ques- 
tions he  didn't  get  no  lies. 

"  Breakfast  at  half-past  six,  sir ;  shall  I  call  you  at 
six  ?  " 

"  Do,"  and  with  the  word  I  sink  back  into  slumber 
between  my  goatskin  carosse  and  my  blanket,  both 
still  necessary,  for  the  night  was  bitter  cold,  and  the 
sun  has  not  yet  warmed  the  air. 

At  six  the  servant  comes  again  with  a  bucket  of 
water,  so  coated  with  dust  that  the  fluid  is  the  colour 
of  khaki.  But  what  of  that?  So  is  the  soap,  and  so 
is  the  towel — indeed,  the  very  balloon  sent  to  us  from 
England  is  khaki-coloured.  It  was  painted  so,  but  it 
would  have  soon  turned  so  if  it  had  been  let  alone. 
We  wash  and  dress,  and  go  out  to  breakfast.  Between 
us  and  the  mess-table  is  the  kitchen.  The  ladies  at 
home  should  see  that  kitchen  of  the  officers'  mess  of 
the  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  which  has  turned  out 
soup  that  Lord  Methuen  has  praised,  and  viands  we 
have  not  been  a  bit  ashamed  to  offer  to  him  and  his 
brigadiers. 

This  serviceable  kitchen  consists  of  a  sort  of  bonfire, 
around  and  on  top  of  which  are  set  half  a  dozen  Flan- 
ders kettles — oval  black  pots  about  a  foot  high,  and 


CHRISTMAS  WITH  METHUEN'S  ARMY  207 

eight  or  nine  inches  wide  in  the  middle.  In  one  of 
these  porridge  is  cooking,  in  another  tea,  in  others 
coffee,  milk,  bloaters,  and  the  like.  Soldiers  in  their 
shirt-sleeves  are  chopping  wood,  stirring  the  pots,  fry- 
ing the  bacon,  and  serving  out  the  food  to  the  servants. 
The  mess-sergeant's  tent  is  near  by — a  little  provision 
shop,  in  and  before  which  are  boxes  and  chests  of  bis- 
cuits, cake,  tinned  goods  of  almost  every  sort,  sauces, 
beer,  spirits,  bread,  and  other  edibles — milk  and  butter 
being  wholly  missing. 

Already  the  intense  heat  of  the  day  is  on  everything, 
and  yet,  because  we  are  among  soldiers,  every  man 
wears  his  coat,  and  wears  it  buttoned  to  the  chin.  The 
ofificers  are  all  used  to  buttoned-up  suffocation,  and 
deserve  no  credit  ;  but  every  morning  I  pat  myself  on 
the  back,  and  declare  that  it  is  almost  as  courageous 
for  me  to  put  my  coat  on  my  fevered,  sweltering  body, 
and  then  button  it  up,  as  it  is  for  a  professional  warrior 
to  go  into  battle. 

A  dozen  or  so  of  the  officers  are  round  their  rude 
mess-table,  each  with  his  soldier-servant  behind  him, 
or  passing  between  the  kitchen  and  the  table. 

"  Merry  Christmas  !  "  Merry  Christmas  !  *'  comes 
from  every  throat,  and  heartily  is  the  greeting  shouted 
back.  I  look  at  them  all  and  wonder  how  they  ap- 
peared in  London,  or  in  Yorkshire,  when  last  they  were 
at  home.  Certainly  not  as  they  appeared  now  in  their 
old  and  stained  khaki,  with  here  and  there  a  beard  or 


2o8  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

a  blistered  nose,  and  everywhere  hands  and  faces  tanned 
and  tinted  like  mahogany. 

How  modest  and  unassuming,  how  frank  and  broth- 
erly they  are,  these  sterling  fellows  who  have  been 
in  the  heat  of  four  battles,  have  been  thinned  In  mess 
and  ranks  by  shocking  losses,  and  yet  are  as  eager  for 
the  next  fray  as  the  newest  regiment  out  here.  I  know 
no  other  regiment  so  well,  for  I  have  lived  with  this 
since  Methuen's  start  ;  but  I  suppose  these  men  are 
simply  types  of  British  officers.  I  know  that  never  a 
man  in  our  mess  has  grumbled  or  complained.  I  have 
seen  the  unvarying  eagerness  with  which  each  man  has 
heard  that  a  battle  was  on  for  next  day.  After 
any  engagement  each  has  told  of  his  part  in  it  as  calmly 
as  an  architect  would  tell  of  a  day's  work  in  an  office. 

But  wonderful  as  these  men  seem  to  me,  they  are 
but  British  officers.  And  in  an  army  made  up  of  the 
best  regiments  there  must  be  many  a  mess  like  this. 

The  talk  is  of  the  big  plum-pudding  that  has  been 
sent  up  from  Capetown  for  the  officers.  The  Queen's 
chocolate  for  the  men  has  not  yet  come,  and  makeshift 
puddings  are  to  be  made  in  camp. 

There  will  be  champagne  at  the  officers'  dinner,  and 
a  tot  of  spirits  is  to  be  served  to  every  Tommy. 
Frankly,  we  find  it  a  little  difficult  to  talk  of  Christmas, 
with  nothing  to  remind  us  of  It  except  a  promise  of 
pudding,  and  a  distant  view  of  a  white-robed  clergyman 
talking  to    a    double   line    of   soldiers    on    the   veldt. 


CHRISTMAS  WITH  METHUEN'S  ARMY   209 

Breakfast  over,  most  of  us  linger  at  the  table.  Under 
it  at  one  end  is  a  packing-case  filled  with  newspapers 
and  pictorial  weeklies. 

A  subaltern  shouts  aloud  with  joy,  as  he  stirs  up  the 
collection  and  brings  to  view  an  Illustrated  Mail  that 
he  had  not  seen  before.  The  rest  of  us  look  for  papers 
we  have  not  seen,  but  no  such  luck  is  to  conae  to  any 
of  us,  and  so  we  fall  to  with  our  tongues. 

''  Shop"  is  almost  our  only  theme.  Sometimes  we 
get  well  on  with  a  conversation  of  other  sorts,  but  in- 
variably a  new-comer  drops  in  and  says  that  our  bal- 
loon is  being  sent  up,  or  the  new  47  gun  has  come, 
and — off  we  go  upon  the  war.  To-day,  for  a  change, 
we  get  up  an  uncommon  strong  interest  in  a  new  sub- 
ject— sports  for  New  Year's  Day.  That  I  take  it  is  a 
topic  that  never  fell  flat  in  a  British  company. 

The  work  of  the  regiment  goes  on  during  Christmas 
as  on  every  other  day.  The  pickets  go  out,  relieving 
those  who  are  to  come  in.  The  men  are  taken  to 
bathe  in  the  river,  even  a  detachment  is  sent  to  help 
the  Engineers  in  building  a  trench. 

Some    of  us,  who   are   not  Tommies,  go  for  a  ride 

with  the  colonel,  or  stroll  over  to  hear  the  best  of  the 

Scotch  pipers  play,  or  if  we  read   a  novel,  or  write  a 

letter,  these  things  only  show  that  in  solemn  truth  all 

there  is  to  be  of  Christmas   is   the  dinner — and  our 

thoughts  of  home. 

Suddenly  there  is  a  tremendous  cheering,  like  that 
I 


2IO  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

of  the  Israelites  of  old  shouting  some  city's  walls  to 
ruins,  like  what  there  is  to  be  when  the  Boers  and 
British  come  to  the  end  of  this  argument.  I  rush  from 
my  tent  to  see  all  the  regiment  drawn  up  before  its 
camp — and  all  the  Black  Watch  before  their  camp — 
and  all  the  Argylls  across  the  railway  drawn  up  in  bat- 
talion formation  in  front  of  their  tents — and  all  cheer- 
ing. 

Why,  every  man  there  in  khaki  is  out  and  cheering. 
"  What's  it  all  about  ?  "  I  ask.  "  They're  cheering  the 
Queen  " — a  beautiful  annual  custom  of  which  I  confess 
I'd  never  heard.  Her  Majesty's  greeting  arrives  on 
the  moment,  and  when  it  has  been  read  it  is  cheered 
with  yet  another  mighty  ringing  roar. 

And  so  we  come  to  lunch  in  our  windy,  dusty,  and 
hot  rendezvous,  and  pleasantry  and  good  spirits  flow 
among  us,  for  we  have  all  been  thrilled  by  that  out- 
burst of  cheers. 

"  Ah,  here  is  the  general  now,"  says  Colonel  Barter, 
and  leaves  us  to  go  out  upon  the  veldt  and  welcome 
Pole-Carew  and  his  aide,  smartly  dressed,  alert,  soldierly 
in  face  and  bearing,  glance  and  speech.  He  has  come 
to  visit  each  company  at  dinner,  and  give  the  season's 
greeting  to  the  men.  He  goes  down  the  line  to  the 
end  tent  of  each  row,  where  the  sergeants  are  eating. 
He  looks  into  each  tent  door,  and  says  he  hopes  they 
are  having  a  good  dinner,  and  he  wishes  them  a  merry 
Christmas.     He  varies  the  words  from  place  to  place, 


CHRISTMAS  WITH  METHUEN'S  ARMY   21  r 

but  never  the  sentiment.  He  hears  there  is  pudding, 
and  it  is  shown  to  him.  He  says  he  is  sorry  the  Royal 
chocolate  did  not  come,  and  that  he  regrets  there  is 
no  beer  to  be  had.  Always  the  men  struggle  to  rise, 
and  each  time  he  says,  "  No,  please  sit  still,"  or  "  Don't 
get  up." 

This  kindly  ceremony  over,  there  is  only  dinner  to 
look  forward  to.  If  it  does  not  blow  or  rain  we  know 
that  all  is  certain  to  go  well.  The  elements  prove 
kindly,  the  pudding  is  perfect,  the  cofTee  and  Benedic- 
tine taste  like  nectar,  and  all  are  now  so  cheery  and 
near  to  the  Christmas  spirit  that  it  is  an  hour  later 
than  usual  when  the  little  band  of  brother  braves 
scatters  in  the  darkness  and  the  desert  dirt. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

TRAITS   OF   MODERN    BATTLE 

War  has  as  many  faces  and  phases  as  Dame  Fortune 
herself.  For  weeks  we  of  Lord  Methuen's  force  were 
aptly  described  as  a  flying  column — a  flying  and  fight- 
ing column  we  were,  leaping  northward,  and  dealing 
blows  right  and  left  as  we  coursed. 

We  were  not  sure  of  our  meals  in  those  days;  in 
fact,  we  were  more  nearly  certain  of  not  getting  them. 
We  came  to  a  pause  after  the  fight  on  the  Modder, 
but  the  fever  was  still  on  us,  and  presently  *'  up  and  at 
them  "  was  the  cry,  and  we  fought  the  biggest  battle 
of  all  four  at  Magersfontein. 

After  that  the  wind  went  out  of  our  sails,  and  we 
waited  for  a  new  supply  of  men  and  munitions.  We 
seemed  to  have  leased  this  little  watering-place  from 
the  Kimberley  folk,  whose  holiday  or  health  retreat  it 
used  to  be. 

If  we  used  cards  in  the  army  we  would  have  had  new 
ones  printed  with  this  address.  We  made  ourselves 
at  home  here.  A  market  had  been  established  for  us, 
and  we  had  fresh  eggs  and   genuine  milk,  new  vege- 

212 


TRAITS  OF  MODERN  BATTLE         213 

tables  and  butter,  to  say  nothing  of  formal  dinners  to 
our  generals  and  our  friends  from  other  messes.  Books 
came  into  camp,  and  we  read  and  lent  them  around. 

Our  horses  were  used  only  for  afternoon  rides,  and 
there  were  even  men  among  us  who  fished  at  times  in 
the  river — which  in  other  respects  had  become  a 
laundry  and  a  horse  trough,  where  the  foot  soldiers 
washed  their  khaki,  and  the  troopers  watered  their 
steeds. 

I  would  not  risk  giving  any  one  the  idea  that  we 
were  idle.  I  believe  time  was  that  soldiers  lounged 
and  dawdled  a  great  deal — hence  the  term  *'sojering" 
applied  to  a  lazy  mechanic  who  avoids  hard  work. 
But  those  were  not  even  nineteenth-century  soldiers, 
and  here  we  were  within  hail  of  the  twentieth  century. 
No,  we  truly  thought  that  we  were  having  an  easy 
time,  but  the  term  was  merely  comparative.  Tommy 
had  to  take  his  turn  at  picket  duty — one  night  in  four 
— at  trench  digging,  at  scouting,  or  patrol  work  if  he 
is  a  mounted  man.  He  had  to  cook  and  wash,  and 
undergo  inspection,  and  be  up  at  daybreak,  and  look 
after  his  rifle  and  accoutrements.  Other  hundreds  of 
men  kept  Army  Service  stores,  and  dealt  out  forage 
and  rations,  clothes,  boots,  putties ;  and  did  black- 
smithing,  horse-shoeing,  harness-mending,  carpentering 
and  I  know  not  what  all  ;  while  the  engineers  built 
trenches  and  bridges,  mended  culverts  and  the  railway 
road-bed,  and  put  in  order  the  tanks  and  windmills 


214  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

that  got  comminuted  fractures  in  the  last  great  battle. 
In  all  the  world  there  are  not  many  trades  as  active 
and  laborious  as  this  same  "  soldiering,"  which  once 
bore  such  a  poor  nickname. 

The  queer  thing  about  us  was  that  we  were  making 
ourselves  believe  that  we  were  at  rest;  and  our  sur- 
roundings helped  to  strengthen  the  delusion.  For  our 
surroundings  formed  a  complete  picture  of  peace  ;  they 
symbolised  calm  and  leisure ;  they  wore  a  Sabbath 
air  of  village  restfulness. 

The  men  who  report  for  the  Daily  Mail,  the  TimeSy 
Renter  s,  the  Morning  Post,  Black  and  White,  and  one 
or  two  other  publications,  moved  their  mule  trunks 
into  a  queer  little  mud-walled  hotel  on  the  "  island," 
where  the  Modder  marries  the  Riet. 

This  is  considered,  I  was  told,  the  Bournemouth  of 
Kimberley,  and  in  other  years  the  riverside  trees  have 
sheltered  many  tents  and  camps  of  summer  loiterers 
from  the  diamond  fields,  while  the  Kimberley  belles 
and  beaux  have  haunted  the  darker  corners  of  my 
stoep  at  night,  and  the  music  of  violin  and  piano  and 
of  dancing  boots  has  tickled  the  air  of  the  dining-room, 
while  the  soberer  men  have  studied  colored  cards  and 
jingled  coins  at  tables  in  the  bedrooms.  I  am  afraid 
these  folk  would  not  know  the  place  this  year  any 
more  than  I  can  imagine  it  as  they  have  known  it.  A 
shrapnel  shell  burst  in  the  dining-room,  another  venti- 
lated the  bedroom  of  the  Times,  and  a  third  has  made 


TRAITS  OF  MODERN  BATTLE         215 

a  new  window  in  the  wall  of  Number  5.  All  the  walls 
are  rendered  like  the  tops  of  so  many  pepper-pots  by 
Mauser  bullets,  and  in  a  storm  it  always  rains  harder 
in  the  hotel  than  outside. 

However,  stand  with  me  on  my  stoep.  The 
green  trees  of  the  riverside  are  bathed  in  sunshine,  and 
trembling  in  a  soft  breeze.  They  are  so  small  that 
we  can  look  over  them  to  the  other  trees  around 
the  store,  the  station,  and  the  Crown,  and  Royal  Hotel. 
The  veldt  lies  at  one  side,  and  far  away  are  many  lines 
of  tents,  which  ought,  perhaps,  to  suggest  war,  but 
yet  manage  to  increase  the  note  of  rest  and  order, 
quiet  and  calm,  which  sweetly  pervades  everything  else. 

The  farthest  object  is  a  ganger's  hut  on  the  railway 
to  the  left,  and  then  the  view  closes  with  a  soft,  rolling, 
purple  line  of  hills.  The  level,  yellow  veldt,  the  vil- 
lage among  the  trees,  the  brilliant  blue  sky,  with  white 
clouds  lazily  afloat  beneath  it  and  the  smooth  undu- 
lating bluish  hills,  how  perfect  a  scene  of  peace  these 
make. 

Now  saddle  up  two  horses  and  ride  with  me  to  the 
ganger's  hut.  Why,  hello !  there's  a  huge  khaki- 
coloured  cannon  the  shape  of  a  hock  bottle?  And  a 
lot  of  men  in  strange,  broad-brimmed  hats  are  standing 
near  it.  They  are  men  of  the  Naval  Brigade,  and  the 
gun  is  a  47  from  the  Doris. 

'*  Did  you  ever  see  any  Boers  ?"  an  officer  calls  out 
to  us. 


2i6  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"Very  few,"  say  I;  **just  the  prisoners  we  have 
taken  " — for  we  are  fighting  an  invisible  foe,  as  every 
one  knows  by  this  time. 

''  Well,  have  a  look  through  this."  He  taps  the 
gun's  telescope  as  he  speaks,  and  we  look  through  it. 

"Heavens!  are  those  Boers?"  We  see  them  all 
over  the  hills  in  numbers,  like  plant-lice  on  a  leaf. 
They  are  all  over  the  hills — riding,  walking,  sitting  in 
groups,  looking  over  redoubts,  digging  trenches,  pass- 
ing water  up  the  slope — the  little  range  of  purple 
breasts  is  alive  with  busy  Boers. 

Then  we  must  have  been  mistaken  about  the  peace- 
fulness  of  this  place.  Peace  where  all  those  Boers  are  ! 
There  has  been  no  peace  in  Africa  since  the  Boers 
came  here  ;  no  peace  for  the  British  since  they  became 
the  Boers'  neighbours. 

We  are  to  lunch  with  the  Guards,  and  we  shall  be 
late  if  we  do  not  hurry.  Ah,  here's  their  mess  tent, 
and  they  have  begun  to  eat.  Welcomed,  and  places 
made  for  us,  we  seat  ourselves  and  are  served  with 
soup.  Boom  !  soof — soof — soof — soof — soof — soof — 
ooogh  !  The  boom  is  the  noise  of  a  big  gun,  the  soof 
— soof  is  the  shell  tearing  through  the  air  ;  the  ooogh 
— precisely  like  a  cough — is  the  bursting  of  the  shell. 

"  That's  our  Joey,"  says  the  colonel ;  "  let  us  see 
where  the  shell  strikes?  By  Jove!  a  pretty  shot — 
plumb  where  they  have  their  40-pounder  !  " 

"  Boom  !  "  from  the  Boer  gun  on  the  right ;  "  Ugh  !  ** 


TRAITS  OF  MODERN  BATTLE         217 

from  its  shell,  which  sends  up  a  fountain  spray  of  sand 
near  the  ganger's  hut. 

"  Didn't  burst,"  says  a  captain. 

*'  Devilish  good  range,  though  !  "  says  another.  And 
now  we  are  all  out  of  the  tent,  sending  for  glasses, 
forgetting  our  lunch,  intent  upon  this  gigantic  duel. 

How  frequently  did  this  happen  ?  How  often  was 
this  vale  of  pastoral  peace  startled  by  such  sounds  and 
ferment  ?  Oh,  as  a  rule,  every  morning  with  a  shot  or 
two  ;  every  afternoon  with  from  half  an  hour  to  two 
hours'  firing,  and  then  again  at  odd  and  unexpected 
hours  on  odd  and  unlooked-for  days.  We  shook  the 
Boers  up  at  eleven  o'clock  the  other  night.  We  had 
set  our  big  guns  by  daylight  to  hit  their  best  positions, 
and  a  battery  of  12-pounders  to  rake  their  trenches. 

Then,  suddenly,  when  it  was  near  midnight,  we  let 
fly.  Our  12-pounders  sent  a  hail  of  shrapnel  shot  into 
their  trenches,  and  they  imagined  that  our  infantry 
were  shooting,  so  a  mile  or  two  of  men  in  their  trenches 
opened  fire  on  the  black  night,  and  satisfied  us  of  their 
state  of  nervousness.  I  say  satisfied  us,  because  on 
the  previous  night  they  had  loosed  a  mile  or  two  of 
rifles  far  on  our  right  for  no  reason  that  we  could  dis- 
cover, though  an  ingenious  theorist  in  camp  holds  that 
a  mule  must  have  strayed  up  against  the  barbed-wire 
strung  along  before  their  trenches. 

We  had  merely  exchanged  a  round  or  two  of  civili- 
ties with  our  neighbours,  and  flattered  ourselves  that 


2i8  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

this  would  suffice  for  the  day,  for,  as  a  rule,  these  things 
are  left  to  us,  and  it  is  we  who  make  the  welkin  ring. 
An  hour  or  two  later  one  hundred  and  fifty  Reservists 
came  to  join  the  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  and  were 
paraded  well  forward  on  the  veldt,  to  be  seen  and 
addressed  by  the  Brigadier-General.  They  were  spread 
along  in  a  lengthy  double  line,  and  the  Boers  must 
have  thought  them  threatening,  for  bang  !  came  a  solid 
shell  into  the  veldt  five  hundred  yards  before  them. 
It  was  comical  then  to  note  how  the  older  men,  experi- 
enced in  this  war,  aired  their  experience  before  the 
new-comers. 

"  That's  nothing,"  they  said  ;  "  mustn't  think  any- 
thing of  that.  We  have  that  every  hour  or  two. 
You'll  soon  get  used  to  it.  We  have  it  at  night,  too ; 
but  you  mustn't  get  jumpy  when  the  shells  come  rat- 
tling among  the  tents,  because,  really,  there's  no  harm 
at  all  in  them  Boer  shells." 

In  this  way  we  alternately  revelled  in  peace  and  in 
war — going  out  a  few  miles  and  destroying  some  farm- 
houses which  were  proven  nests  of  sniping  Boers,  or 
watching  a  Boer  patrol  which  rode  interestingly  near 
one  of  our  naval  guns.  Now  it  was  at  daybreak  that 
we  sent  them  our  compliments,  and  next  we  were 
"  boomed  "  out  of  bed  and  forced  to  dress  twice  in  an 
hour  at  midnight,  as  we  heard  the  roar  of  great  guns 
and  the  crackle  of  artillery.  On  Christmas  alone,  of 
all  the  days  since  we  took  to  the  field,  we  enjoyed  a 
full  day  of  uninterrupted  peace. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

SCENES  AND  SOUNDS  OF  MODERN  WAR 

The  pictures  of  our  battles  which  are  produced  in 
illustrated  papers  are  not  at  all  like  real  scenes  at  the 
front. 

Art  cannot  keep  pace  with  the  quick  advances  of 
science,  and  illustrators  find  that  for  effect  they  must 
still  put  as  much  smoke  and  confusion  in  their  battle 
studies  as  went  with  the  old  pictures  of  Waterloo.  If 
this  were  left  out  the  public  would  be  disappointed, 
and  unable  to  tell  a  battle-field  from  a  parade. 

Lately  a  picture  in  one  of  our  leading  papers,  by  a 

very   capable  artist,  showed  the    British   storming   a 

Boer  position.      In  the  middle  distance   was  a   Boer 

battery,  and  the  only  gunner  left  alive  was  standing 

up  with  a  bandage  round  his  head,  while  smoke  and 

flame  and  flying  fragments  of  shells  filled  the  air  in 

his  vicinity.     In  the  rush  of  the  instant  he  must  have 

been  bandaged  by  the  same  shot  that  struck  him,  and 

as  for  the  smoke  and  flying  ddbrisj  there  was  more  of 

this  in  a  corner  of  that  picture  than  was  to  be  seen  in 

all  the  four  battles  we  have  fought ! 

219 


220  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

What  then  is  a  modern  battle — how  does  it  look  and 
sound  ? 

Really,  the  field  of  operations  is  so  extensive,  and 
the  range  of  modern  guns  is  so  great,  that  fighting 
conditions  have  altered,  until  there  is  no  longer  any 
general  ^'  noise  of  battle  hurtled  in  the  air,"  no  possi- 
bility of  grasping  or  viewing  an  engagement  from  any 
single  point. 

You  may  hear  one  of  our  big  guns  loosed  three 
miles  over  on  the  right,  and  another  two  miles  on  the 
left.  If  you  are  near  they  make  a  tremendous  noise, 
yet  I  have  not  heard  any  explosion  so  loud  as  a  good 
strong  clap  of  thunder.  The  guns  of  the  enemy  cough 
far  in  front  of  you,  and  their  shells  burst  within  your 
lines  with  a  louder  sound — but  with  no  real  crash  or 
deafening  roar. 

Our  guns  at  their  muzzles  create  but  little  smoke, 
though  our  lyddite  shells  throw  up  clouds  of  dust  and 
smoke  where  they  fall  miles  away.  Because  the  Boers 
are  using  old-fashioned  powder  in  their  cannon  there 
is  a  small  white  cloud  wherever  one  is  fired,  and  a 
spurt  of  red  sand  where  their  shells  dig  into  the  veldt. 
The  smoke  of  war,  therefore,  and  the  so-called  roar  of 
battle  are  now-a-days  occasional,  scattered,  inconsider- 
able. 

Rifle-firing  has  been  the  principal  feature  of  our 
fights.  It  sounds  like  the  frying  of  fat,  or  like  the 
crackling  and  snapping  of  green  wood  in  a  bonfire.    If 


SCENES  OF  MODERN  WAR  221 

you  are  within  two  miles  of  the  front  you  are  apt  to 
be  under  fire,  and  then  you  hear  the  music  of  individ- 
ual bullets.  Their  song  is  like  the  magnified  note  of 
a  mosquito.  ''  Z — z — z — z — z  "  they  go  over  your 
head  ;  ''  z — z — z — z — p  "  they  finish  as  they  bury  them- 
selves in  the  ground.  This  is  a  sound  only  to  be  heard 
when  the  bullets  fly  very  close.  You  pick  up  your 
heels  and  run  a  hundred,  or  even  fifty,  yards,  and  you 
hear  nothing  but  the  general  crackle  of  rifle-fire  in 
and  before  the  trenches. 

The  "putt-putt,"  or  Vickers-Nordenfeldt  gun,  is 
able  to  interest  you  at  a  distance  of  three  miles.  Its 
explosions  are  best  described  by  the  nickname  given 
to  the  gun  by  one  regiment:  "the  blooming  door- 
knocker." Its  bullets  or  shells  are  as  big  as  the  bowl 
of  a  large  briar-root  pipe,  and  they  tear  and  slit  the 
air  with  a  terrible  sound,  exploding  when  they  strike. 
The  firing  of  this  gun  was  heard  all  over  the  largest  of 
our  battle-fields,  and  the  sound  of  exploding  shells  car- 
ried far,  because  they  were  apt  to  fall  on  the  quiet, 
outer  edge  of  the  field.  The  whizz  that  even  these 
missiles  make  in  flying,  however,  is,  like  the  whispered 
answers  of  a  maid  in  love,  only  to  be  heard  by  the 
favoured  individual  who  is  especially  addressed. 

Thus  the  many  separate  sounds  are  not  loud  enough 
to  blend.  The  crowning,  all-pervading  noises  are 
those  of  the  guns  and  of  the  rifle-fire,  and  on  the  vast 
veldt,    spread    over   a    double    line   of  five    to    seven 


222  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

miles  in  length,  only  those  that  are  very  near  are  very 
loud. 

The  scene  of  battle — the  general  view — is  exceed- 
ingly orderly.  There  may  be  a  desperate  scrimmage 
where  a  company  or  two  are  storming  a  kopje,  but 
level  your  glass  on  yonder  hill,  and  what  do  you  see — 
a  fringe  of  tiny  jets  of  fire  from  the  top  where  the 
Boers  are,  and  our  men  in  khaki  rising,  and  reclining, 
and  occasionally  firing,  as  they  win  their  way  upward. 

The  general  view  displays  an  arrangement  as  meth- 
odical as  a  chess-board.  There  are  several  battalions 
flat  on  their  faces  in  two  or  three  long  lines.  Over 
here  is  a  battery  in  perfect  order,  with  its  limber  of 
horses  at  rest  near  by.  Another  battery,  equally  well 
arranged,  as  if  to  have  its  photograph  taken,  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  middle  field  ;  a  third  is  on  the  farther  side. 
The  cavalry  is  sweeping  across  the  veldt  in  perfect 
rank  and  alignment.  There  is  no  confusion  anywhere 
— nothing  is  helter-skelter  or  slap-dash. 

I  remember  only  two  momentary  disturbances  of 
this  stern  steady  discipline.  One  was  in  the  after- 
noon, during  the  Modder  River  fight,  when  a  large 
band  of  mounted  Boers  made  a  flank  movement  on 
our  extreme  right,  and  fired  a  volley  at  our  immense 
mass  of  transport  and  ambulance  waggons,  water-carts, 
and  ammunition  trains. 

The  drivers  were  taken  by  surprise,  and  fell  to  lash- 
ing their  mule  teams  and  horses,  generally    to   the 


SCENES  OF  MODERN  WAR  223 

accompaniment  of  high-keyed  Kaffir  yells.  The  rout 
lasted  but  five  minutes  or  less,  and  was  comical  beyond 
description,  because  the  leading  mules  climbed  over 
the  wheelers,  and  the  faster  the  bullets  fell  the  louder 
the  Kaffirs  yelled,  and  the  more  they  plied  their 
enormous  whips. 

The  bravery  of  our  stretcher-bearers  is  as  much 
beyond  question  as  it  is  beyond  praise.  All  historians 
who  tell  of  the  dash  and  valour  of  the  generals,  colonels, 
majors,  captains,  and  "  Tommies "  of  the  army,  in 
common  justice  must  also  describe  how  the  chaplains, 
doctors,  and  stretcher-bearers  went  in  and  out  of  the 
most  hellish  fire,  not  once  or  twice,  but  all  through 
every  battle. 

It  is  just  outside  the  range  of  fire  that  you  see  and 
realise  the  horrors  of  war.  It  is  there  that  the  wounded 
crawl  and  stagger  by  you  ;  it  is  there  that  they  spend 
their  final  output  of  energy,  and  fall  down  to  lie  until 
assistance  comes  ;  it  is  there  that  you  see  stretchers 
laden  with  their  mangled  freight,  and  sound  soldiers 
bearing  the  wounded  on  their  backs  and  in  their  arms. 

More  certainly  to  know  the  brutality  and  woe  of 
war,  happen  upon  a  kopje  that  has  just  been  stormed, 
or  a  trench  that  has  been  carried.  Go  to  such  a  place 
to-day,  twenty  centuries  after  Christ  came  with  His 
message  of  peace  on  earth,  and  good-will  to  men,  and 
behold  what  you  shall  see. 

*'  Here,"  said  I  to  a  photographer  in  such  a  place — 


224  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

I  think  it  was  Belmont — "  snap  this  scene.  Look  at 
the  wounded  all  over  the  ground.  Quick!  out  with 
your  camera." 

"  Oh,  I  can't,"  said  he ;  *'  it's  too  horrible  !  " 

*'  As  you  please,"  I  said,  "  but  it's  what  the  public 
wants." 

You  read,  in  the  writings  of  those  who  know  nothing 
of  war,  about  the  writhing  of  the  wounded,  and  the 
groaning  on  the  battle-field.  There  is  no  writhing, 
and  the  groans  are  few  and  faint.  There  was  one  man 
who  was  simply  cut  to  pieces  by  a  shell  at  Maaghers- 
fontein,  and  his  sufferings  must  have  been  awful.  He 
kept  crying,  ''Doctor,  can't  you  do  anything?" 
Another  begged  to  be  killed,  and  the  first  wounded 
man  I  saw  kept  saying,  poor  fellow,  in  ever  so  low  a 
voice,  "Oh,  dear,  dear,  dear!  Oh,  dear,  dear,  dear!  " 
But  there  is  much  less  groaning  than  you  would  im- 
agine— very  little  in  proportion  to  the  sufferings. 

Two  things  are  so  common  with  the  wounded  as  to 
be  almost  like  rules  of  behaviour.  They  all  beg  for 
water  (it  used  to  be  cigarettes  that  they  asked  for  on 
the  Turkish  side  in  the  last  war  in  Europe),  and  they 
seem  always  to  be  made  gentle  by  their  wounds.  Men 
of  the  roughest  speech,  profane  by  second  nature, 
cease  to  offend  when  stricken  down. 

''  Well,  mate,"  said  one,  whose  leg  was  shattered, 
"  you  never  know  when  your  turn  will  come,  do 
you  ?  " 


SCENES  OF  MODERN  WAR  225 

And  another  simply  cried,  '*  Oh,  dear !  " 

Now  and  then  you  heard,  ''  For  God's  sake  get  me 
taken  to  an  ambulance,"  but  no  profanity  was  intended 
there. 

Many  may  wonder  how  it  feels  to  be  wounded.  All 
who  had  bones  shattered  by  expanding  bullets  used 
nearly  the  same  language  to  describe  the  sensation. 

"You  feel,"  they  said,  ''exactly  as  if  you  had 
received  a  powerful  shock  from  an  electric  battery, 
and  then  comes  a  blow  as  if  your  foot  "  (or  arm,  or 
whatever  part  it  might  be)  '*  was  crushed  by  a  stroke 
with  a  tremendous  mallet."  It  is  much  the  same  in  a 
lesser  degree  if  a  bone  is  struck  by  a  Mauser  bullet  ; 
but  if  the  smooth,  slender,  clean  little  shot  merely 
pierces  the  flesh,  a  burning  or  stinging  sensation  is  the 
instantaneous  result. 

"  Lying  six  hours  in  the  broiling  sun  was  pretty 
bad,"  said  one  whose  arm-bone  was  smashed  ;  "  but 
the  really  awful  experience  was  the  jolting  over  rocks 
when  I  was  carried  off  in  an  ambulance." 

Another  man,  an  officer,  whose  foot  was  smashed 
by  an  explosive  bullet,  said,  ^'  Look  at  my  pipe. 
That's  what  I  did  to  keep  from  saying  anything."  He 
had  bitten  off  an  inch  of  the  hardened  rubber  mouth- 
piece. That  was  before  his  wound  was  dressed.  The 
relief  that  is  given  by  the  dressing  of  a  wound  must 
be  exquisite,  for  you  hear  next  to  no  groans  or  moans 
after  a  doctor  has  given  this  first  attention. 


226  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

In  the  army  of  Lord  Methuen  the  great  majority  of 
wounds  were  in  the  arms  and  feet ;  but  other  points 
and  experiences  in  war  are  more  remarkable.  The 
chances  of  receiving  a  wound  seem  not  to  have 
greatly  increased  with  the  improvements  in  modern 
death-dealing  implements.  There  were  more  than  a 
million  shots  fired  at  Modder  River,  and  yet  only 
about  eight  hundred  men  were  hit,  while  the  number 
of  bullets  that  hit  water-bottles,  haversacks,  ration- 
tins,  and  coat-sleeves  was  astonishing.  The  damage 
to  life  and  limb  by  the  excessive  artillery  fire  was  next 
to  nothing. 

On  a  typical  field  of  battle  the  armies  oppose  one 
another  with  orderly  masses.  Staff  officers  ride  hither 
and  thither.  Batteries  rumble  to  and  fro  at  long  in- 
tervals as  they  are  ordered  to  take  new  positions,  and 
in  the  same  way  the  cavalry  appear  and  reappear  on 
the  edges  of  the  field.  Stretcher-bearers  bring  the 
wounded  out  of  the  zone  of  danger,  and  ambulances 
roll  up,  get  their  loads,  and  roll  away  again,  all  day 
continually,  as  in  a  ceaseless  train. 

Brave  privates  bring  out  the  wounded,  and  work 
their  way  back  into  fire  again,  now  running  forward, 
now  dropping  flat  upon  the  veldt.  Skulkers  work 
back  to  the  edge  of  the  field  in  the  same  way — a  few 
only — and  are  gathered  up  and  sent  forward  in  batches 
by  the  officers  who  come  upon  them.  At  last  the 
cheer  of  British  victory  is  heard,  and  the  whole  force 


SCENES  OF  MODERN  WAR  227 

rushes  forward  ;  or  darkness  falls  upon  an  unfinished 
fight,  and  we  grope  about  the  veldt  seeking  our  camps, 
and  the  food  and  drink  that  most  of  us  have  gone 
without  too  long. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

A  HALT  IN  MODERN  WAR  METHODS 

On  January  20th  Lord  Methuen's  force  was  not 
resting,  but  busy  enough,  though  not  fighting. 

When  we  all  come  to  be  judged  by  the  work  we 
have  done  in  these  early  days  of  the  war,  it  shall  not 
be  said  that  in  the  time  we  took  to  fight  four  battles, 
and  in  the  severity  of  those  engagements,  we  did  not 
do  as  much  as  could  be  expected  of  everyday  fighting 
men. 

A  fickle  public  may  have  turned  aside  from  us,  fas- 
tening its  passing  interest  on  a  Buller  or  a  French,  and 
saying,  **  It  is  to  these  new  favourites  that  we  must 
look  for  our  excitement."  But  when  we  were  filling 
the  stage,  what  a  brilliant  spectacle  we  made  !  What 
dash  we  showed !  What  swiftness  marked  our  prog- 
ress !  What  sturdy  blows  we  dealt,  and  how  quickly 
we  showered  them  down  ! 

We  were  not  checked !  It  was  the  methods  of 
modern  warfare  that  halted  ! 

It  had  not  fallen  to  any  other  general's  lot  to  meet 

with  a  foe  so  situated  as  to  embody  the  entire  strength, 
228 


A  HALT  IN  MODERN  WAR  METHODS    229 

under  fullest  conditions,  of  the  newest  methods  of 
defence. 

It  was  easy  enough  for  the  world  to  cry  "  Halt !  "  in 
its  interest  in  us,  just  as  the  Boers  cried  *'  Halt  !  "  in 
our  progress  when  we  reached  Maaghersfontein,  but 
the  Boer  command  to  us  to  halt  must  also  be  consid- 
ered by  military  scientists  everywhere  as  an  order 
given  to  all  armed  nations  to  stop  and  unlearn  much 
that  they  have  known  of  war — for  Maaghersfontein 
seems  likely  to  be  the  end  of  the  fighting  system  that 
was  practised  by  the  Wellingtons,  Wolseleys,  Von 
Moltkes,  and  Grants  of  bygone  days. 

Look  at  Maaghersfontein.  It  is  a  grass  and  bush- 
strewn  plain,  not  perfectly  level,  but  indented  by  a  few 
slight  ridges.  Had  Lord  Methuen  advanced  upon  it 
as  quickly  from  the  Modder  River  fight  as  he  rushed 
from  one  to  the  other  of  his  preceding  battles,  he 
might  not  have  been  checked,  because  the  strength 
of  their  defence  was  wrought  in  the  time  he  gave  the 
Boers  in  which  to  build  fresh  trenches,  and  to  recover 
from  their  rout. 

He  might  thus  have  gained  another  victory,  but 
this  would  only  have  postponed  that  revelation  of  the 
strength  of  modern  weapons,  which  must,  in  any  event, 
have  soon  startled  the  world.  He  had  fought  three 
battles  in  a  week.  He  might  have  fought  a  fourth. 
Then  his  men  must  have  rested,  and  he  would  have 
met  his  check  at  Spytfontein. 


230  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

Somewhere,  very  soon,  the  Boers  would  have  shown 
him  what  they  demonstrated  at  Maaghersfontein, 
proving  that,  given  a  plain  field  of  grass,  modern 
magazine  rifles,  and  quick-firing  small  guns,  the  whole 
German  army  itself  could  not  dislodge  the  sixty-five 
thousand  men  of  the  two  Boer  republics. 

It  was  not  that  there  were  many  Boers  or  many 
British  in  this  battle.  Of  the  Boers  there  were  twelve 
to  fifteen  thousand ;  of  the  British  eight  or  nine  thou- 
sand at  a  full  estimate.  But  it  is  certain  that  by  a 
frontal  attack  on  those  grass-edged  trenches  not  fifty 
thousand  British  could  have  beaten  the  fifteen  thou- 
sand Boers,  except  at  such  a  sacrifice  of  life  as  no 
commander  would  require,  or  could  be  pardoned  for 
occasioning. 

The  question  of  the  wisdom  or  unwisdom  of  pursu- 
ing the  method  of  frontal  attack,  which  had  served 
Lord  Methuen  with  success  up  to  this  point,  is  not  a 
matter  to  be  discussed  in  these  descriptive  pages. 

For  frontal  attack  the  old  military  manuals  declared 
that  the  attacking  force  must  outnumber  the  defenders 
by  three  to  one.  To-day,  with  the  new  weapons,  it  is 
said  that  ten  men  must  attack  one,  but  it  is  impossible 
to  set  the  modern  proportion  correctly,  since,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  Maaghersfontein  battle-field,  with 
its  threefold  trenches  extending  twenty-five  miles,  was 
as  impregnable  to  infantry  as  Cronstadt  is  to  attack 
by  torpedo  boats. 


A  HALT  IN  MODERN  WAR  METHODS    231 

It  has  been  beyond  question  proved  that  many 
changes  must  be  made  in  coming  warfare  to  suit  the 
new  conditions  by  which  we  are  confronted.  Even  as 
the  Boers  have  shown  that  they  have  been  learning 
how  best  to  utilise  their  advantages,  since  the  war 
began,  so  we  are  gaining  knowledge,  and  certainly  have 
yet  a  great  deal  to  acquire. 

The  Boer  as  a  stalker  of  game,  and  later,  as  a  warrior, 
had  made  the  fullest  use  of  the  natural  advantages  of 
a  country  whose  defences  are  everywhere  abundant. 
Of  these  he  took  the  kopjes  and  their  rocks  to  be  the 
best,  but  at  Belmont  and  Graspan  he  discovered  that 
the  reckless,  seemingly  blind,  valour  of  our  men  made 
light  of  these,  simply  by  making  light  of  death. 

The  Boer,  therefore,  modified  his  methods,  and 
adopted  the  shelter  of  intrenchments. 

At  Modder  River  he  built  his  trenches  at  the  edge 
of  a  steep  river-bed,  which  afforded  him  cover  for  the 
movement  of  reinforcements,  and  the  supplying  of 
ammunition,  food,  and  water  to  his  forces.  At  Maa- 
ghersfontein  he  built  a  threefold  series  of  trenches,  and 
made  the  centre  of  his  position  a  kopje  whose  foot  was 
fringed  by  vaal  bushes,  behind  which  he  could  move 
his  reinforcements,  carry  off  his  dead  and  wounded,  and 
distribute  his  food,  and  fresh  supplies  of  cartridges. 

With  the  old-style  single-shot  rifle  the  change  from 
behind  the  rocks  of  his  hills  to  the  protection  afforded 
by  mere  ridges,  or  hastily  built  trenches,  would  have 


232  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

made  him  an  easy  prey  to  the  bravest  troops  in  Europe, 
such  as  we  believe  to  have  been  in  Lord  Methuen's 
following. 

But  with  magazine  rifles,  artillery,  and  such  fearful, 
terrifying  weapons  as  the  new  Vickers-Nordenfeldt 
gun,  he  could  make  a  ridge  or  trench  impregnable. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  formidable  of  the 
new  conditions  of  war  which  we  have  experienced  is 
that  we  so  seldom  see  our  foe.  Can  the  keenest 
student  of  war  comprehend  what  it  means  to  go  on 
week  after  week,  and  month  after  month,  fighting  an 
invisible  enemy  ? 

A  few  Boers  were  to  be  seen  bolting  before  us  at 
Belmont,  a  smaller  number  escaping  from  the  punish- 
ment we  were  meting  out  to  them  at  Graspan,  and 
several  hundred  showing  themselves — with  uncommon 
impudence  and  courage — before  the  beginning  of  the 
battle  at  Modder  River ;  but  there  were  at  this  time 
men  in  our  army  who  had  never  seen  a  Boer  in  battle ; 
there  were  even  officers  who  had  only  seen  one  or  two 
in  one  battle,  and  five  or  six  in  another.  In  engage- 
ment after  engagement  our  men  have  thrown  them- 
selves upon  the  veldt,  moved  to  do  so  by  a  hail  of 
bullets  around  them,  and  then  have  fired  away  for 
hours  at  a  time,  aiming  at  the  noise  or  the  flame  of 
the  enemy's  fire  in  trenches  which  they  could  not  see. 

This  is  true  to  such  an  extent,  that  at  Modder 
River  there  were  whole  battalions  of  ours  that  did  not 


A  HALT  IN  MODERN  WAR  METHODS    233 

know  at  the  end  of  the  day  whether  the  enemy  was 
north  or  south  of  the  river  ;  in  fact,  they  beheved, 
during  the  entire  battle,  that  the  enemy  was  on  the 
farther  side  of  it.  Under  such  circumstances,  if  we  did 
not  pick  up  some  wounded  and  take  some  prisoners,  as 
actual  ocular  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  flesh-and-blood 
enemy,  we  might  almost  have  expected  the  more  im- 
aginative of  our  soldiers  to  believe  that  they  had  been 
fighting  a  phantom  host. 

They  had  seen  the  earth  crack  apart,  and  vomit  flame 
and  bullets  ;  they  had  heard  the  hell's  chorus  of  battle  ; 
they  had  seen  their  comrades  fall  dead  and  mangled 
by  their  sides  ;  but  they  had  not  seen  the  men  who 
produced  the  tumult  and  the  damage.  This,  then,  is 
among  the  new  conditions  of  war  which  have  to  be 
taken  into  account. 

With  the  introduction  of  smokeless  powder  a  foe 
intrenched,  or  hiding  behind  rocks,  is  a  foe  invisible ; 
and  it  takes  a  tenfold  stouter  heart  to  fight  an  unseen 
enemy,  than  to  join  issue  with  a  substantial  line  of 
flesh-and-blood,  or  to  reply  to  a  leaping,  running  target 
of  brown  smoke  which  locates,  if  it  does  not  reveal,  the 
danger  with  which  men  have  to  deal. 

In  a  way,  then,  and  to  a  certain  degree — if  we  may 
say  so  of  such  an  experienced  soldier — Lord  Methuen 
had  to  grope  his  way  through,  against,  and  around 
these  new  conditions,  and,  in  common  with  our  other 
generals,  to  face  new  problems  and  fresh  devices  that 


234  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

have  sprung  from  the  first  rivalry  of  men  equally  well 
armed  with  the  latest  implements  of  war. 

It  is  easier  to  sit  at  home  and  denounce  our  tactics, 
than  to  understand  the  new  light  thrown  upon  warfare 
by  the  adoption  of  smokeless  powder,  and  the  terrible, 
staggering  surprises  brought  about  by  weapons  that 
can  kill  at  a  farther  range  than  two  miles,  and  can  stop 
ten  men  with  one  magazine  full  of  shot. 

We  of  the  British  side  have  placed  great  reliance 
upon  our  artillery,  and  especially  upon  that  branch  of 
it  which  wields  the  deadly  gas  and  murderous  shock 
of  lyddite.  It  may  be  that  our  successes  thus  far  have 
been  due  to  the  fact  that  ours  are  the  best  artillerists 
in  the  world,  and  that  we  have  had  the  use  of  lyddite 
to  ourselves  ;  but  we  shall  only  know  all  the  truth  when 
the  war  ends,  or  when  we  come  with  a  rush  upon  some 
battle-field  which  we  have  pelted  with  shells  for  hours. 

In  South  Africa  the  local  reporters  have  told  us  re- 
peatedly of  the  fearful  slaughter  our  shells  have  caused, 
of  how  our  gunners  "  saw  400  Boers,  fired,  and  then 
saw  not  a  soul ;  "  but  we  must  take  these  reports  with 
more  than  a  grain  of  salt.  We  have  been  under  artil- 
lery fire  sometimes  for  hours — and  it  has  been  well- 
directed  fire.  It  has  done  us  but  little  damage,  and 
therefore  we  may  naturally  ask  why  that  which  we  have 
shot  at  the  enemy  should  be  thought  to  have  done  so 
very  much  more  execution  ? 

While  admitting  the  familiar  truth  that  artillery  fire 


A  HALT  IN  MODERN  WAR  METHODS    235 

is  terrifying,  those  who  have  themselves  out-lived  the 
terror  may  well  wonder  whether  this  may  not  also  be 
true  of  the  Boers,  and,  wondering,  wait  for  revelation 
of  the  facts. 

We  do  know  that  a  European  army,  fighting  under 
European  rules,  is  a  clumsy  weapon  against  the  Boer, 
who  opposes  us  with  weapons  which  render  one 
man  as  good  as  ten,  and  all  ten  invisible.  We  remem- 
ber the  old  saying,  that  ''an  army  moves  upon  its 
belly,"  and  we  paraphrase  this  and  make  it  read  "  the 
modern  army  must  fight  upon  its  belly." 

We  have  learned  that  even  British  valour,  displayed 
by  a  number  of  men  equal  to  the  foe,  is  of  no  con- 
clusive value  under  the  new  conditions,  and  that  if  all 
modern  armies  could  intrench  themselves,  and  could 
then  compel  their  enemies  to  meet  them  in  frontal 
attack,  war  would  soon  be  abandoned  as  impossible. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

CORRESPONDENTS   UNDER   FIRE 

He  had  reported  only  one  battle  before  this,  and 
he  had  gone  into  it  gaily,  with  a  journalist's  longing 
for  a  new  sensation  ;  but  something  now  happened 
that  was  not  in  his  programme. 

While  running  down  the  railway  embankment  he 
had  all  but  stumbled  over  a  dead  man  with  one 
shoulder  and  breast  torn  away. 

Fascinated,  he  turned  to  look,  and  saw  that  it  was 
the  body  of  a  splendid  fellow  who  had  sat  next  to 
him  at  mess  the  night  before — an  officer  of  the  Grena- 
dier Guards.  The  unclosed  eyes  were  looking  at  him. 
They  seemed  to  follow  him  as  he  turned  away,  sick 
at  stomach  and  at  heart. 

Sick  at  stomach   and  at  heart,  he  stumbled  ahead 

over  the   rocks   and  furrows  of  the  veldt,  tugging  at 

the  reins  of  his   horse,  which  persisted   in  trying    to 

graze,  as   horses   always  do,  even   where    bullets    are 

whistling  and   shells  are  bursting — as  horses  will  do 

even  while  their  riders  are  swaying  in  the  saddle,  shot 

through  heart  or  head.     He  cursed  the  glutton  for  its 
236 


CORRESPONDENTS  UNDER  FIRE       237 

lack  of  sentiment,  and  when  its  nose  went  down  again 
for  another  nibble  in  the  sage  bush,  he  lashed  its  face 
with  the  loose  end  of  the  lines. 

After  that  there  was  another  war  on  the  veldt — a 
tussel  with  his  horse — a  war  within  a  war. 

He  was  trying  to  hurry  to  a  small,  round,  rocky 
kopje,  against  which  he  had  seen  a  regiment  in  khaki 
fling  itself  English  fashion,  headlong,  blunt,  straight 
from  the  shoulder. 

His  horse  was  still  trying  to  graze,  and  must  be 
either  ridden  or  turned  loose.  As  this  was  at  too 
close  quarters  for  him  to  make  himself  a  target  on 
horseback,  he  let  it  go,  and  ran  for  the  men  in  khaki, 
and  the  crackle  of  their  rifle-fire,  which  was  answered 
and  echoed  by  the  continuous  fire  of  the  grimy  and 
unkempt  Boers  from  behind  the  towering  rocks,  and 
when  he  reached  the  last  line  of  British,  stooping  like 
stalkers  after  deer,  he  found  himself  in  a  down-pour 
of  shot. 

The  bullets  sang  all  around  him,  like  darting,  angry 
bees  disturbed. 

They  sang  over  his  head,  they  whizzed  over  his 
shoulders  beside  both  ears,  they  zizzed  by  his  waist, 
and  they  buzzed  between  his  legs  ;  for  there  is  no 
place  where  the  superfluous  bullets  do  not  go  ;  and 
thank  God  !  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  in  every 
thousand  are  superfluous. 

Yes,  they  even  buzzed  between  his  legs,  and  he  fell 


23S  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

flat  on  his  face,  and  said  to  himself  that  he  did  not 
get  salary  enough  for  such  an  experience,  and  that 
the  war  correspondent  who  exposed  himself  to  fire 
was  recreant  to  his  duty,  and  an  idiot  to  boot.  He 
lay  flat  on  his  face,  and  lo !  the  firing  ceased.  There 
was  only  now  and  then  a  shot,  and  here  and  there  a 
reply,  and  he  looked  up  and  saw  the  men  in  khaki, 
silhouetted  against  the  shiny  black  rocks,  all  boldly 
upright,  and  rushing  up  the  hill.  They  had  driven 
the  unwashed,  unshaven  enemy  out  of  those  rocky 
nests,  and  the  day  was  won.  The  day  was  won,  and 
all  was  well,  except  that  he,  a  war  correspondent,  had 
run  needless  risks. 

And  now  another  day  had  come,  and  another  battle 
was  on.  Another  battle  was  on,  and  to  be  in  it  and 
safe  at  the  same  time  he  was  with  the  battery  of  naval 
guns.  Though  it  is  not  at  all  true,  any  one  who  has 
never  been  through  a  war  will  tell  you  that  you  are 
safe  in  battle  if  you  are  with  the  guns.  He  was  a 
handsome  young  fellow,  and  has  since  proved  himself 
brave  to  the  marrow ;  but  with  bravery  he  unites 
common-sense,  and  he  said  to  himself:  *'  I  can't  write 
if  I'm  killed  or  wounded.  I'm  paid  for  keeping  safe." 
So  he  and  another  correspondent  were  with  the  naval 
men  in  their  broad-rimmed  straw  hats  covered  with 
khaki,  with  their  loose,  slouching  attitudes  and  move- 
ments— so  different  from  the  trim  and  style  of  soldiers, 
without  being  any  the  worse  for  the  difference. 


CORRESPONDENTS  UNDER  FIRE       239 

When  the  gunners  saw  anything  at  which  to  fire 
they  were  busy  for  a  minute  or  two,  but  between 
whiles  they  lounged  about  as  though  at  a  picnic. 
The  officers  smoked  cigarettes  and  talked  of  last  night's 
"  sing-song,"  humming  over  again  some  of  the  "  catch- 
ing "  choruses  they  had  heard.  The  men  squatted  on 
the  veldt  with  their  backs  against  their  gun  carriages, 
as  sturdy  chickens  nuzzle  up  against  a  m.other  hen. 
They  fired  when  they  saw  some  Boers  a-horseback,  or 
heard  a  long  fusillade  from  an  unseen  trench.  No- 
body answered  them.  It  was  one-sided  warfare  such 
as  an  onlooker,  paid  for  keeping  safe,  could  enjoy. 

It  was  one-sided  warfare,  till  the  Boers  got  one  of 
their  batteries  into  position  behind  a  ridge  a  mile  and 
a-half  away.  Then  it  became  two-sided,  like  a  game 
of  battledore  and  shuttle-cock,  in  which  it  seemed 
that  every  time  we  sent  them  a  shell  they  sent  it  back. 
A  Royal  Artillery  battery  rumbled  up  and  unlimbered 
near  us,  sending  its  horses  a  little  to  the  rear,  and 
instantly  opening  heavy  fire  on  the  foe. 

Opening  heavy  fire — and  meeting  heavy  fire.  Z-z- 
z-o-oo-woof!  came  the  shells,  ripping  the  air,  gash- 
ing the  ground,  and  throwing  up  fountains  of  red  earth 
and  broken  iron.  The  correspondents,  and  one  or 
two  officers  who  appeared  to  have  no  part  in  the  work 
of  the  battery  stood  near  a  railway  culvert,  of  solid 
masonry,  and  strolled  into  its  shelter  every  time  they 
saw  the  flash  and  smoke  of  a  Boer  gun.     It  may  not 


240  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

have  been  very  brave,  but  they  had  no  call  to  be  brave 
just  then. 

''  Courage  is  not  a  thing  to  brandish  about  like  a 
horse  pistol  in  the  hands  of  a  madman,"  the  corre- 
spondent thought, "  it's  like  good  liquor,  to  be  barrelled, 
and  tapped  when  called  for." 

They  continued  to  stroll  into  the  culvert  at  every 
flash  of  a  Boer  gun,  until  they  saw  that  the  Boers  shot 
wide,  all  of  them,  and  every  time.  Then  they  turned 
their  backs  upon  the  culvert,  and  strolled  about,  pooh- 
poohing  the  enemy's  shells. 

"  Hello  !  there  goes  that  gun.  That's  going  wide 
of  the  R.  A.  limber.  Hi !  there  goes  the  chap  who  is 
shooting  at  us.  Let's  see  if  he  gets  any  nearer  than 
the  next  county.  Look  !  there  goes  the  Johnny  who's 
after  that  bunch  of  transport  waggons.  By  Jove  ! 
see  how  they  scamper!  Hanged  if  he  didn't  chuck 
dust  all  over  that  near  buck-waggon  !  " 

In  this  way  the  idlers  chronicled  every  shot  that  was 
addressed  to  us  by  the  enemy,  until — until  z-z-z-oo- 
wuf,  went  a  shell  into  the  R.A.  limber,  and  two  horses 
fell,  one  minus  a  jaw,  and  the  other  with  its  stomach 
torn  out.  Somebody  began  the  remark  "  that  Johnny 
has  got  the  range,"  when,  z-z-z-oo-woof  came  a  shell 
straight  under  the  first  of  the  naval  guns.  Every  man 
round  it  stood  his  ground,  and  death  licked  his  lean 
chops  as  he  reached  a  bony  arm  towards  them,  but — 
the  shell  did  not  explode.     Then  number  one  gun  was 


CORRESPONDENTS  UNDER  FIRE       241 

quickly  hauled  back  a  hundred  yards,  and  while  it 
was  moving  a  shell  chased  it,  and  exploded  within 
thirty  yards. 

"  I  get  no  pay  for  this,"  said  the  handsomer  and 
younger  of  the  correspondents.  *'  Let  us  go  over  and 
see  what  that  heavy  rifle-firing  is  about  on  the  far  right." 

'*  I'm  rather  taken  with  this,"  said  his  eager  com- 
panion. "  It's  getting  very  lively.  I'd  like  to  see  it 
out." 

But  the  first  one  would  not  stay,  and  as  he  carried 
lunch  for  both  of  them  in  his  saddlebags,  they  went 
together  and  sat  down  out  of  gun  range,  to  dine 
upon  sardines,  biscuits,  water  and  cheese.  Like  the 
soft  strains  of  an  orchestra,  the  first  correspondent 
sang  his  refrain  about  breach  of  faith  to  public  and 
employer,  which  is  perpetrated  by  a  war  correspondent 
who  puts  himself  in  the  way  of  danger. 

An  hour  later  each  sat  upon  his  separate  ant-hill  on 
the  extreme  right  of  the  battle-field,  where  an  endless 
awful  volleying  of  rifle  fire  had  sounded  ever  since  day- 
break— hour  upon  hour. 

There  then  they  sat,  two  thousand  five  hundred 
yards  behind  the  firing-line  of  the  British,  who  lay  in 
rows  upon  their  bellies  firing  at  unseen  Boers  in  an 
invisible  trench,  which  spat  out  bullets  as  a  needle- 
bath  sprays  water.  The  dead  brown  veldt  lay  empty 
between  the  two  reporters  and  the  battle — empty  save 

that  it  was  sparsely  tufted  with  dried  sage  bush,  and 
16 


242  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

studded  at  intervals  with  hard,  conical  ant-heaps,  one, 
two,  or  three  feet  high,  and  all  wide  enough  for  shelter. 
Empty,  except  for  these,  and  the  mangled  men  who 
were  crawling  and  hobbling  out  of  the  fight ;  and  the 
stretcher-bearers,  who  were  either  rushing  in  to  pick 
them  up,  or  else  seeking  covert. 

I  fancy  the  younger  correspondent  was  congratulat- 
ing himself  upon  his  safety,  but  as  he  did  so  there 
came  a  sound  like  heavy  hail  upon  a  tin  roof,  and 
bullets  whistled,  pinged,  and  spatted  all  round  him. 
The  sound  came  from  behind  his  back,  for  the  Boers 
had  made  a  flank  movement,  dashing  furiously  toward 
the  ambulance  and  transport  waggons,  banging  at 
them  with  a  volley,  and  setting  all  the  drivers  and 
horses  in  a  panic.  It  was  then  that  these  two  inad- 
vertently ran  straight  into  the  danger  zone  of  the 
main  battle. 

If  there  is  a  place  in  action  which  is  more  dangerous 
than  even  the  firing  line,  certainly  it  is  the  zone  where 
the  bullets  strike  the  earth.  Soldiers  almost  always 
shoot  too  high — over  the  heads  of  the  foe  before  them, 
so  that  it  is  safer  to  be  in  the  front  than  in  the  middle 
rear.  To  the  middle  rear  ran  these  adventurers,  and 
then  fell  down.  They  fell  when  they  found  the  air 
as  thick  with  bullets  as  ever  a  pudding  was  with 
plums — and  when  they  saw  that  every  movement  was 
followed  by  a  spurt  of  sand  from  falling  shot.  Have 
you  ever  seen  a  sorry  tramp  walking  in  the  rain  with 


CORRESPONDENTS  UNDER  FIRE       243 

water  gushing  from  the  holes  in  his  boots  ?  The  sand 
fountains  reminded  them  of  that.  Both  fell  behind 
an  ant-heap,  and  began  to  laugh. 

"There  was  no  other  way  to  run,"  they  said  to  one 
another,  **  it  looked  as  if  the  Boers  would  cut  us  off  in 
any  other  direction." 

"  Putt-putt-putt-putt,"  sounded  the  awful  machine- 
gun  from  the  heights,  and  its  tornado  of  one-pound 
shells  raked  the  air  over  their  heads  with  seven  scream- 
ing missiles  at  a  time.  Zizz-zit  hummed  the  Mauser, 
and  the  Martini-Henry  bullets,  like  magnified  bees  in 
swarms.  The  air  was  thick  with  flying  lead.  Bits  of 
the  friendly  ant-hill  were  chipped  off.  Spray  from 
the  dust-jets  thrown  up  by  bullets  fell  softly  on  their 
hands  as  they  lay  motionless.  Thicker  and  thicker 
came  the  hail,  for  the  Boer  sharpshooters  had  seen  the 
two  men  run  and  drop,  and  were  sending  bullets  to 
search  the  spot.  They  buried  their  noses  in  the  red 
sand^  and  talked  and  thought. 

*'  Say  something  funny,"  said  the  younger  man.     '*  I 

wish  young  B was  here.     He'd  keep  us  laughing. 

Wow  !  but  that  was  close.     It  fanned  my  ear." 

**  I  wonder  what's  become  of  our  horses." 

"  Hang  the  horses !  What  I  wonder  is,  how  that 
silly  mule  can  stand  there  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of 
us,  where  the  bullets  are  like  drops  in  a  slanting  rain. 
ril  bet  the  brute  is  full  of  holes  and  doesn't  know  it. 
Perhaps  we  are,  too." 


244  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"  Hello  !  here's  that  Guards  doctor.  Doctor  !  Doc- 
tor! come  and  tell  us  what's  going  on."  The  Guards 
doctor  is  nothing  loth.  He  dashes  over  to  the  cor- 
respondents, and  in  doing  so  awakens  a  new  fury  of 
rifle  and  machine-gun  fire. 

"I  can't  stay  long,"  he  says;  ''we've  a  great  many 
wounded  up  there,  and  I  must  look  after  them. 
How's  the  fight  going  ?  It's  simply  going  on  for  ever, 
and  neither  side  is  budging.  You  think  the  bullets 
are  thick  here.  Watch  me  go  forward,  and  when  you 
see  me  drop,  you  may  know  it's  a  bit  thick.  There's 
one  place  ahead  where  the  shot  come  in  solid  streaks 
like  telegraph  wires.  Well,  ta-ta !  I  must  make  a 
dash  for  it." 

As  he  runs  they  watch,  and  see  the  tiny  sand  foun- 
tains spurt  up  before,  beside,  and  behind  him.  At 
last  he  drops,  and  for  half  an  hour  lies  quite  still. 

For  an  hour  and  a  half  they  keep  their  faces  close 
to  the  veldt  behind  their  ant-hill.  Every  now  and 
again  there  comes  a  lull,  and  they  think  they  will 
make  a  bolt  for  safety,  and  one  raises  his  head  or  lifts 
an  arm,  whereupon  the  bullet  factory  opens  again  for 
business,  and  leaden  streaks  rake  the  air  like  a  fine- 
toothed  comb.  They  resign  themselves,  and  watch 
other  men  in  similar  straits. 

They  see  a  Coldstream  Tommy  run  to  a  tiny  sage 
bush  that  wouldn't  stop  a  pea-shooter,  and  gratefully 
take  its  shelter. 


CORRESPONDENTS  UNDER  FIRE      245 

They  see  another  lying  flat  as  a  flap-jack,  and  reach- 
ing stealthily,  blindly,  over  the  rough  ground  to 
gather  little  stones — none  bigger  than  a  hen's  egg. 
He  gets  five  or  six  of  these  and  builds  a  whimsical 
shelter  four  inches  wide  and  three  inches  high.  He 
presses  his  face  in  the  sand  with  this  ridiculous  toy 
wall  in  front  of  his  crown.  It  is  the  best  that  he  can 
do,  and  he  is  content.  He  is  content  until — ten  min- 
utes later  an  explosive  bullet  hits  his  foot,  and 
smashes  it  as  if  a  heavy  sledge-hammer  had  crushed  it. 

He  calls  to  the  correspondents  to  bring  the  stretcher- 
bearers  to  him.  Two  of  these  have  been  hiding 
behind  an  ant-hill  for  a  very  long  while.  To  them  the 
correspondents  yell,  but  the  bearers  are  unable  to 
hear.  A  Tommy  looms  up  ahead  dragging  a  shat- 
tered leg,  hopping  along  before  a  pursuing  blizzard  of 
bullets.  He,  too,  calls  to  the  correspondents,  "  for 
Heaven's  sake,  gentlemen,  get  me  to  an  ambulance. 
I've  been  wounded  like  this  for  ten  hours."  At  once 
they  forget  themselves  and  their  danger,  and,  telling 
him  with  the  shattered  leg  to  go  and  lie  by  him  with 
the  crushed  foot,  they  start  through  the  rain  of  bul- 
lets to  try  to  rouse  the  two  bearers. 

They  forget  themselves  and  their  danger,  though 
there  is  death  at  every  step — just  as  every  man  who 
is  any  good  forgets  self  and  danger  on  the  battlefield 
if  only  he  has  something  definite  to  do. 

Even  if  he  has  the  jumps,  give  him  a  rifle  and  sec 


246  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

how  interested  he  will  become.  Send  him  galloping 
into  the  fire  on  an  errand,  and  his  funk  will  drop  from 
him,  as  if  the  bullets  had  shot  it  away. 

A  word  of  command  to  those  stretcher-bearers 
brought  them  quickly  to  their  feet.  Then  the  corre- 
spondents had  nothing  to  do,  and  then  again  the  bullets 
pinged  beside  them,  and  buzzed  about  them,  and  they 
dropped  flat  on  the  veldt — with  no  shelter  this  time. 
There  they  lay  a  long  time.  A  bullet  touched  the 
hair  of  one ;  another  flew  between  their  heads,  which 
were  not  eighteen  inches  apart.  Three  Tommies  in 
full  flight  saw  them,  and  ran  towards  them,  bringing  a 
cloud  of  shot  along. 

"  Keep  away  !  keep  away !  you  fools  ! "  the  corre- 
spondents shouted.  "  Get  yourselves  killed  as  much 
as  you  like,  but  don't  draw  the  fire  on  us.  Lie  down 
by  yourselves,  you  idiots."  This  sudden  outburst  of 
abuse  revealed  how  great  had  been  the  tension  on  their 
nerves. 

"It's  telling  on  me."  said  the  young  and  handsome 
one,  "  yet  I  am  not  conscious  of  being  afraid." 

"There's  no  room  for  fear,"  said  the  other.  "We 
know  our  danger.  We  can't  help  ourselves,  and  that's 
all  there  is  about  it.  I'm  sick  of  my  lime-juice  and 
water.  Give  me  a  drink  of  your  plain  essence  of  mi- 
crobes." 

Next  a  bullet-headed  Tommy  darted  up  from  behind, 
and  dropped  beside  the  younger  correspondent.     Just 


CORRESPONDENTS  UNDER  FIRE        247 

Heaven  !  how  he  was  sworn  at  and  abused,  as  a  new 
hail  of  bullets  showered  around  the  three,  attracted  by 
his  dash  across  the  veldt. 

"  If  you  would  pull  in  that  blooming  tin  pail,  and 
put  it  under  your  tummy,  you  wouldn't  git  so  much  o' 
the  blooming  bullets.  It  shoines  loike  a  heliograph." 
He  was  right.  He  referred  to  a  two-quart,  bright,  new 
tin  water-bottle,  which  the  elder  man  had  left  beside 
him  on  the  ground. 

Of  all  the  sublimated  fools  in  any  army,  this  Tommy 
was  the  worst.  He  next  asked  for  a  drink,  and,  taking 
a  covered  bottle,  raised  himself  on  his  elbows,  put  up 
his  head,  lifted  the  bottle  high,  and  began  to  quaff. 
A  thousand  rifle  balls  and  ten  minutes'  play  of  the 
"  putt-putt  "  showed  that  this  had  been  accepted  as  a 
challenge.  Again  Tommy  was  sworn  at  for  an  idiot — 
and  what  was  his  reply  ? 

''  I  know  it.  When  I  was  loying  hover  there  be'ind 
a  hant-'ill,  I  'eld  up  me  blooming  'elmet,  an'  got  a  'ole 
put  through  it  before  I  could  get  it  down  again." 

He  was  quieted  by  the  impressive  assurance  that  he 
would  get  a  pistol  ball  through  his  skull  at  the  next 
provocation,  and  for  another  half-hour  he  lay  still. 
Then  suddenly  he  said — 

"  Gents,  I'm  blimed  tired  of  planting  me  nose  in 
the  sand,  and  waiting  for  it  to  sprout.  What  I  say  is, 
let's  run  for  it,  each  one  in  a  different  direckshin,  so 
the  blooming  Boers  won't  know  which  to  peg  at." 


248  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"  You're  a  general,  Tommy,"  said  the  correspond- 
ents ;  "we're  with  you." 

He  gave  the  word.  All  three  ran  like  mad  in  dif- 
ferent ways,  and  the  Boers  directed  their  fire  on  the 
young  and  handsome  correspondent.  It  was  dusk, 
and  jets  of  flame  sprang  out  of  the  veldt  all  round  him. 
But  he  was  not  hit. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

AN  OPEN  LETTER  TO  A  FIELD-CORNET 

To  Hermanns   Swigelaar,  Esq.,    Boer  Farmer,  Field- 
Cornet,  of  Ramdam,  Orange  Free  State, 

MoDDER  River,  Feb,  6tk. 

Dear  Sir, — You  know  how  a  man  will  sometimes 
leave  a  little  thing  behind  him  when  he  says  good-bye 
— his  goloshes,  or  umbrella,  or  gloves. 

Well,  when  I  called  on  you  in  my  Cape  cart  with  a 
bit  of  the  British  army,  and  you  chanced  not  to  be  at 
home,  I  came  away  without  my  cart. 

You  may  have  been  surprised,  but  I've  seen  men 
and  women  do  more  than  that.  I  was  walking  about 
Havana  once  when  everybody  of  both  sexes  left  every- 
thing they  had,  and  came  out  of  the  houses  in  just 
their  complexions — but  that  was  because  an  earth- 
quake occurred  at  precisely  eleven  in  the  morning, 
when  they  were  all  in  their  baths. 

The  cart  I  overlooked  is  what  is  called  a  ''  cooper 

cart,"  and  there  is  not  a  better  in  the  country,  so  that 

it  is  absurd  for  you  to  think  I  left  it  as  a  present  to  a 

total  stranger,  or  because  I  did  not  want  it. 

249 


250  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

I  asked  your  neighbour  across  the  border,  Colonel 
Macbean,  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders,  to  fetch  it  away 
with  him,  whenever  he  went  to  pay  his  courtesy  call 
in  return  for  our  entertainment  during  the  four-and- 
twenty  hours  we  spent  on  your  farm,  when  you  were 
not  at  home.  He  now  writes  me  that  you  have  taken 
my  cart  to  Jacobsdal,  and  that  I  must  address  all 
further  correspondence  on  the  subject  to  you.  Colonel 
Macbean  doubtless  thinks  himself  a  humourist,  but  you 
observe  that  I  am  taking  his  advice  seriously. 

I  want  my  cart  or  fifty  pounds — in  sovereigns,  not 
Krugers. 

I  had  just  as  lief  you  should  keep  the  cart,  because 
it  would  serve  as  proof  that  I  have  been  in  your  coun- 
try, and  know  what  I  am  writing  about ;  therefore 
please  bring  the  money  to  me  in  Lord  Methuen's 
camp.  We  shall  all  be  glad  to  see  you,  and  may 
probably  press  you  to  stay  with  us — till  the  war  is 
over. 

I  was  much  interested  in  your  district.  It  is  the 
first  corner  of  the  enemy's  country  that  I  have  visited, 
except  Cape  Colony.  I  like  the  Free  State — a  little. 
It  is  the  worst  place  but  one  this  side  of  the  Sudan, 
the  very  worst  being  the  region  where  Lord  Methuen 
has  been  fighting.  There  was  a  suggestion  of  green 
herbage  and  foliage  in  your  desert,  and  I  was  grateful 
for  that. 

What  a  queer  people  you    are  to   call   yourselves 


AN  OPEN  LETTER  251 

farmers  when  you  are  in  reality  a  mere  lot  of  cow- 
boys ! 

Take  your  own  '*  farm,"  for  example,  which  appears 
to  be  the  entire  valley  that  surrounds  you.  A  couple 
of  miles  from  your  house  is  a  barbed-wire  enclosure 
given  up  to  corn,  figs,  mulberries,  and  peaches — a 
place  the  size  of  an  ordinary  vegetable  garden  in 
Finchley  or  Upper  Norwood.  Such  a  patch  consti- 
tutes a  man  a  farmer,  it  appears,  though  the  rest  of 
your  valley  is  precisely  as  God  made  it,  and  your  real 
business,  like  that  of  the  Afridis,  Turks,  Servians, 
Albanians,  and  all  other  such  folk,  is  cattle  herding. 

The  more  I  saw  of  Boer  homes  and  surroundings  the 
less  I  liked  your  people.  I  hope  you  don't  mind  my 
saying  so. 

The  little  group  of  poplars  in  front  of  your  house 
made  the  place  very  inviting  from  a  distance,  but 
when  we  reached  your  home,  which  is  typical  of  all 
the  others,  what  did  we  see  ?  A  garden,  or  a  lawn,  or 
flowers  ?  On  the  contrary,  for  a  wide  space  all  round 
your  houses  the  veldt  looks  like  a  shooting-ground. 
Bones,  discarded  tins,  bottles,  skulls  of  cattle,  putrefy- 
ing bodies  of  fowls  and  meer-cats,  with  rubbish  of 
every  sort,  were  lying  about. 

Such  are  the  surroundings  of  the  homes  of  yourself 
and  your  wealthiest  neighbours. 

And  close  beside,  almost  against  your  houses,  you 
build  your  kraals — compounds  walled  in  w'^-h  rocks, 


252  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

where  you  keep  your  cattle,  just  where  an  English- 
man— or,  for  that  matter,  a  Hollander — would  cultivate 
a  beautiful  and  glorious  flower  garden. 

Then,  again,  your  houses  are  extremely  primitive 
and  rude.  There  must  be  some  essential  lacking,  my 
dear  Swigelaar,  in  a  people  who  live  close  to  the  Eng- 
lish, and  yet  do  not  even  learn  how  to  consult  their 
own  comfort  and  convenience.  There  is  a  little  scroll 
saw-work  on  one  corner  of  your  house.  It  makes  the 
building  look  absurdly  lop-sided,  but  it  is  the  only  su- 
perfluity— except  a  cat-o'-nine-tails  for  licking  the  black 
farm  hands — that  I  saw  during  two  days  in  your  neigh- 
bourhood. 

Your  houses  are  nothing  but  boxes  with  holes  in 
them  for  doors  and  windows — and,  actually,  in  your 
house,  one  or  two  rooms  had  no  windows  at  all ! 
Your  glossy-green  floors  are  of  pressed  mud  varnished 
with  diluted  cow-dung  and  blood. 

Believe  me,  these  things  help  to  show  why  your 
Republics  are  offered  up  for  sacrifice ;  they  wallow  in 
the  past,  with  no  hold  on  the  future. 

I  sat  on  your  stoop,  Swigelaar,  with  a  pro- British 
Afrikander,  who  endeavoured  to  explain  things  in  a 
way  calculated  to  make  me  more  lenient  in  my  judg- 
ment. 

He  said  that  only  twenty-five  years  ago  countless 
herds  of  deer  of  different  sorts  roamed  over  your 
alleged  farm.     You  could  not  keep  cattle,  and  if  you 


AN  OPEN  LETTER  253 

cultivated  any  edible  crop  these  blesbok,  springbok, 
and  steinbok  would  devour  it. 

But  you  had  no  desire  to  grow  anything,  or  keep 
any  animal  except  a  horse.  Your  people  were  hunt- 
ers, like  their  fathers,  and  you  were  so  busy  killing 
and  eating  antelope,  and  selling  the  skins,  that  in  1872 
one  of  five  traders  in  a  near-by  village  sent  to  England 
80,000  hides.  The  other  four  did  quite  as  well,  I 
believe. 

You  only  took  up  farming  twenty  years  ago,  and 
then  you  went  in  for  cattle,  and  had  to  keep  them 
close  to  your  house  on  account  of  stray  and  hungry 
lions,  and  abundant  wolves.  That's  all  very  well, 
Swigelaar,  but  you  need  not  go  on  for  ever  farming 
with  your  little  finger.  It  is  time  you  took  two  hands 
to  it  now.  And  you  do  not  fear  any  lion  (except  the 
British  lion)  in  these  days,  therefore  you  can  move 
your  kraals  and  cattle  away  from  your  bedroom  and 
sitting-room  windows — unless  you  like  the  aroma. 

As  I  sat  on  your  stoop  I  let  my  mind  turn  over 
many  of  the  interesting  things  I  have  heard  about 
what  goes  on  in  such  houses  as  yours,  all  over  the  two 
Republics. 

I  seemed  to  see  the  very  occasional  visitors  ride  or 
drive  up,  each  one  saluting  you  as  *'  neef  "  (cousin)  if 
you  were  about  his  age,  or  ''  00m  "  (uncle)  if  you  were 
older. 

If  your  visitor  lived  in  the  State,  you  were  certain 


254  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

to  know  him  ;  if  he  was  a  stranger,  you  would  remem- 
ber for  twenty  years  what  day  he  came,  and  what  he 
said  and  did. 

You  entertained  your  visitors  on  your  long,  broad 
stoop  of  rough  and  irregular  stones,  in  the  shadow  of 
the  mulberry  tree,  which  has  pushed  its  way  up 
through  them.  If  he  carried  any  spirits  you  would 
drink  with  him,  but  you  never  produced  for  a  guest 
any  of  the  little  gin  you  were  apt  to  have  indoors  for 
your  own  and  your  family's  use.  To  all  you  offered 
coffee,  and,  now  and  then,  doughnuts  made  at  the 
moment. 

Often  these  visitors  were  pedlars  or  traders,  usually 
Hebrews.  How  frequently  they  tricked  your  neigh- 
bours, and  sharpened  the  already  fine  cunning  of  your 
people ! 

You  occasionally  had  to  sign  your  name  to  neces- 
sary papers.     What  an  event  that  was ! 

*'  Hush  !  "  cried  your  wife  Petronella  ;  "  father  is 
going  to  sign  his  name." 

All  was  still  as  death,  and  the  household  stood 
a-tiptoe,  and  craned  its  neck  to  see  you  painting  your 
autograph,  while  your  mouth  worked  in  concert  with 
your  pen. 

If  you  sold  Ahasuerus  some  skins  for  thirty  pounds, 
he  offered  you  ten  shillings  to  sign  a  receipt  for  forty, 
did  he  not?  You  did  not  hesitate,  but  grinned  at 
getting  ten    shillings    so  easily.     He  wrote   out  the 


AN  OPEN  LETTER  255 

paper,  you  signed  it,  and  your  wife  rolled  her  eyes  at 
you  and  said,  ''  Oh,  Hermanus,  how  dreadful  clever 
you  are  !  " 

Six  months  later,  you  probably  found  that  it  was  a 
promissory  note  you  had  signed — but  let  us  not  dwell 
upon  the  subject,  Hermanus. 

Those  whom  you  put  up  in  your  house  now  saw  your 
singular  dining  customs.  You  men  always  eat  first, 
while  your  wife  cooks  in  the  kitchen,  and  your  daugh- 
ter— for  whom  you  bought  that  amazing  German 
melodeon  that's  in  the  sitzkammer  (sitting-room)— 
moves  about  the  table  waving  the  flies  away  with  a 
cloth,  and  wiping  indiscriminately  with  it  the  plates 
or  the  baby's  face. 

"  Have  you  finished  ? "  you  inquire  in  due  course, 
''  then  sit  back." 

Now  the  women  come  in  and  eat  their  dinner  from 
the  men's  unwashed  plates.  Very  nice  girls — who  are 
young  enough  to  bother  about  trifles — will  scrape  the 
debris  of  the  man's  meal  to  one  side  of  the  plate. 
Those  who  are  absurdly  squeamish,  and  want  to  put 
on  side,  will  turn  the  dirty  plate  over,  and  eat  off  the 
bottom. 

The  ornaments  in  a  house  reveal  the  taste  of  the 
family,  and  suggest  its  degree  or  quality  of  polish, 
which  is  civilisation. 

I  look,  therefore,  at  your  ornaments  with  interest, 
Hermanus.     On    the    walls  are    the    patent-medicine 


256  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

almanacs  given  away  at  the  store,  and  some  chromo- 
lithograph pictures,  given  as  advertisements. 

But  the  real  proof  of  taste  in  every  burgher's  house 
is  the  wife's  table  in  the  sitting-room — you'll  bear  me 
out  in  that,  Hermanns,  won't  you  ?  This  table  carries 
some  yellow,  blue,  and  green  sugar  and  butter  dishes, 
such  as  are  given  away  with  tea  in  the  Old  Kent 
Road.  Perhaps  there  is  also  a  tin  dish,  or  little  tray, 
washed  over  with  brass.  Whoever  has  such  a  table 
need  hang  his  head  before  no  burgher  in  the  land. 

It  is  a  Sunday  evening  and  all  are  out  on  the  stoop, 
when  up  rides  a  young  man. 

From  afar  the  sight  of  him  makes  you  all  smile — all 
except  Miss  Aletta,  whose  cheeks  turn  scarlet,  as  she 
rises  and  flees  into  the  house. 

It's  "  Coos"  (Jacobus)  Vandarbile,  and  he  has  come 
a-courting,  as  everyone  may  see  by  the  blue  puggaree 
wou^d  around  his  hat,  and  the  splendid  saddle-cloth 
beneath  him — an  extra  long  cloth  bordered  with  em- 
broidered roses. 

That  hat-band  and  saddle-cloth  form  the  livery  of 
Cupid  in  your  country,  eh,  Hermanns? 

Coos  off-saddles,  and  salutes  the  family,  taking  you 
aside  to  ask  if  he  may  court  Aletta. 

When  sundown  comes,  and  you  and  Petronella  take 
to  your  bed  as  usual,  Aletta  and  Coos  sit  up  together 
in  the  sitzkammer,  with  only  a  curtain  in  the  doorway 
between  you  and  them. 


AN  OPEN  LETTER  257 

Maidenly  modesty  has  led  her  to  produce  a  very 
short  bit  of  candle,  which  she  lights  and  puts  on  the 
table,  knowing  that  Coos  must  go  to  bed  when  it  is 
burned  out.  He  is  not  to  go  home,  for  no  Boer  trav- 
els at  night. 

Coos  sees  the  candle,  and  slily  whips  out  a  bit  of  his 
own  three  times  as  long,  which  he  lights,  and  sets  up, 
slipping  Aletta's  tiny  piece  into  his  pocket.  Then  he 
draws  his  chair  up  quite  close,  and  sits  with  his  shoulder 
against  hers. 

They  both  giggle.  Coos  has  a  quarter  of  a  pound 
of  motto  lozenges  in  one  pocket,  and  a  bottle  of  scent 
in  another. 

He  finds  a  lozenge  marked  "  I  love  you,"  and  puts 
it  in  Aletta's  lap. 

Again  she  giggles.  So  does  he.  Then  he  gives  her 
a  handful  of  lozenges,  to  find  one  with  an  answer  to 
his  declaration.  Talking  in  sweets  lasts  an  hour,  and 
at  the  end  he  gives  her  the  bottle  of  scent. 

There  is  much  more  giggling,  a  little  wrestling  and 
horse-play,  ending  with  a  kiss,  and  the  candle  is  at  its 
Idst  minute. 

Aletta  slips  behind  the  curtain  into  the  family  sleep- 
ing-room, and  Coos  goes  to  bed  on  the  settee  with  its 
seat  of  crossed  leather  thongs. 

Very  soon  Petronella  and  Aletta  will  go  to  the  store 
of  Jacobsdal  to  buy  the  wedding  outfit — a  black  gown, 
a  print  gown,  cotton  for  a  petticoat,  a  pair  of  stockings 
17 


258  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

(to  be  worn  only  on  the  wedding  day),  and  a  new  pair 
of  boots. 

Let  us  hope  the  wedding  may  not  go  amiss,  like  that 
of  certain  neighbours  of  yours,  Hermanus.  You  re- 
member when  two  couples  stood  up  together  to  be 
wedded,  and  the  clergyman  married  the  men  to  the 
wrong  girls. 

They  asked  him  to  do  it  over  again,  and  make  it 
right,  but  he  said  he  could  not ;  he  would  have  to  carry 
the  matter  before  the  higher  authorities  of  the 
church. 

At  this,  you  recollect,  the  young  couples  and  all 
their  relatives  and  friends  said  they  could  not  wait,  as 
the  coffee  and  cakes  would  spoil. 

But  the  clergyman  was  firm.  He  declared  that  by 
himself  he  could  not  undo  the  marriage,  and  at  that 
the  couples  decided  to  stay  as  they  were,  rather  than 
waste  the  coffee  and  cakes.  So  they  have  been  wrongly 
but  happily  mated  ever  since. 

After  that  do  you  still  say  yours  are  not  a  funny 
people,  Hermanus? 

As  I  sat  on  your  stoop  I  thought  of  all  this,  and  of 
much  more.  I  cannot,  for  instance,  bring  myself  to 
like  your  sleeping  in  your  clothes,  or  the  way  you 
treat  the  Kafifirs  whom  you  virtually  commandeer  to 
work  for  you. 

Your  morning  and  evening  prayers  would  be  com- 
mendable were  it  not  that,  after  they  are  finished,  you 


AN  OPEN  LETTER  259 

are  so  apt  to  boast  of  how  you  have  tricked  someone 
in  trade,  or  pilfered  something  at  the  store. 

You  are  a  born  horseman,  a  born  hunter,  a  good 
hater,  a  stubborn  fighter  as  long  as  you  can  keep  be- 
hind cover,  but  you  are  simple  as  wax  in  the  hands  of 
your  foxy  politicians,  who  should  have  seen  that  the 
wicked  game  they  put  up  is  a  game  of  "  tails  we  lose, 
and  heads  the  other  fellows  win  1 " 

I  am,  my  dear  Hermanus,  yours,  &c., 

Julian  Ralph. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  RELIEF  OF   KIMBERLEY 

Field-Marshal  Lord  Roberts,  with  his  distin- 
guished Chief  of  Staff,  Lord  Kitchener,  arrived  at 
Capetown  in  January,  and  after  supervising  the  prep- 
aration of  a  larger  force  than  had,  up  to  that  time, 
been  employed  in  the  war,  he  went  to  the  front.  He 
visited  De  Aar,  Orange  River,  and  the  practically 
united  camp  of  twenty  thousand  men  which  extended 
from  Orange  River  to  Maaghersfontein,  and  was 
commanded  partly  by  Major-General  Wood,  and,  at 
Modder  River,  where  the  greater  part  was  encamped, 
by  General  Lord  Methuen. 

Everywhere  the  soldiers  responded  to  the  presence 
of  Lord  Roberts  as  if  it  were  electrical,  and  it  was  felt 
that  a  new  and  brighter  turn  in  the  course  of  the  war 
had  been  reached. 

At  about  the  same  time  General  French  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  force  with  which  he  had  been 
operating  at  Colesberg  slipped  away  to  join  the  Field- 
Marshal's  army  without  the  Boers  getting  knowledge, 

I  believe,  of  the  nature  of  his  movement. 
260 


THE  RELIEF  OF  KIMBERLEY         261 

General  Sir  Hector  Macdonald,  leading  the  now 
newly-invigorated  Highland  Brigade,  marched  twenty 
miles  to  the  westward  of  Modder  River  Camp  to  divert 
the  attention  of  the  enemy  from  what  was  going  on 
under  General  Roberts. 

The  Highlanders  engaged  the  enemy  at  Koodoos- 
berg  with  measurable  success ;  that  is  to  say,  they  put 
the  Boers  to  flight  but,  as  had  been  the  almost  un- 
broken rule  with  our  troops  in  this  war,  they  failed  to 
capture  either  their  guns  or  any  considerable  number 
of  prisoners.  For  this  the  cavalry  under  General  Bab- 
bington  had  been  called  upon,  but  did  not  reach  the 
scene  until  they  had  managed  to  escape. 

Practically  all  the  cavalry  in  the  western  border  of 
the  Free  State  were  now  ordered  to  General  French's 
command.  General  Colville  commanding  the  Guards 
was  transferred  to  a  new  division  formed  on  the  spot. 
Brigadier-General  Pole-Carew  took  over  the  Guards, 
and  to  Colonel  Douglas,  who  had  been  on  Methuen's 
staff,  was  given  the  Ninth  Brigade  in  place  of  Pole- 
Carew — the  brigade  which  contained  the  "  Fighting 
Fifth  "  (Northumberlands),  and  Colonel  Barter's  York- 
shire Light  Infantry,  troops  which  had  borne  m^ost  of 
the  brunt  of  the  fighting  in  three  of  Lord  Methuen's 
four  engagements.  They  and  the  valorous  Guards' 
Brigade  were  left  with  General  Methuen  to  guard  the 
line  and  watch  Maaghersfontein. 

Within  a  week  after  his  arrival  at  the  front  Lord 


262  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

Roberts  was  moving  into  the  Free  State  with  forty- 
five  thousand  men.  The  chosen  point  of  invasion  was 
just  below  Graspan,  by  the  passage  between  hills 
through  which  the  Australians  and  New  Zealanders 
had  cleared  the  way  for  General  Babbington's  extra- 
cautious  and  generally  unimportant  manoeuvre  of  the 
second  week  in  January. 

The  sight  of  Lord  Roberts'  great  army  in  motion 
was  inspiriting  and  magnificent,  but  the  conditions 
surrounding  it  were  such  as  seemed  to  give  the  usually 
recumbent  Boers  great  odds.  It  was  the  hottest  time 
in  the  summer  of  that  region.  The  heat,  which  became 
insufferable  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  reached 
broiling  point  by  nine  o'clock,  and  knew  no  abatement 
until  the  sun  sank.  The  parched  veldt,  suffering  from 
an  almost  rainless  summer,  had  turned  its  surface  into 
powder,  and  the  hot  wind,  playing  with  this,  half 
smothered  the  troops  in  floury  dust  almost  continu- 
ously during  daylight  each  day  and  once  during  an 
entire  night. 

French  had  gone  ahead  with  his  three  divisions  of 
cavalry  to  move  with  a  rapidity  which  took  no  account 
of  the  heat,  though  the  native  horses  of  the  Boers, 
after  one-third  as  much  work,  afterward  succumbed  to 
exhaustion,  and  delivered  more  than  three  score  of  the 
enemy's  laden  waggons  into  our  hands. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  General  French's 
force  was  mounted.     Fancy  the  strain  which  the  heat, 


THE  RELIEF  OF  KIMBERLEY        263 

the  dust,  and  the  absence  of  water,  imposed  upon  the 
foot-soldiers  under  the  Field-Marshal !  In  one  day 
about  sixty  men  fell  out  of  the  ranks,  stricken  down 
by  the  sun. 

It  was  at  daybreak  of  February  12th,  that  the  bulk 
of  General  Roberts's  army  started  for  the  Free  State, 
arriving  at  Ramdan — an  abandoned  farmhouse  long 
used  as  a  laager — at  eleven  o'clock,  a.  m.,  and  resting 
there.  General  French  and  his  three  brigades  of 
mounted  men  had  made  an  earlier  start.  The  enemy 
was  caught  napping,  for  the  Boers  in  that  part  of  the 
country  were  all  watching  a  body  of  mounted  infantry 
that  was  marching  up  from  Orange  River  to  Jacobsdal. 

On  Monday,  February  12th,  General  French,  who 
had  been  following  the  Riet  River  on  its  southern  side, 
crossed  it  at  Waterfall  Drift,  but  only  after  beating 
some  Boers  with  guns  who  attempted  to  hold  the 
fording  place.  The  enemy  retreated,  and  General 
French  and  his  troops  crossed,  leaving  his  transport  to 
follow. 

The  transport  was  viciously  attacked,  in  its  turn, 
but  being  well  defended  by  the  guarding  force  that 
accompanied  it,  also  crossed  the  river  after  unimportant 
loses. 

On  the  next  day.  General  French  reached  and  forded 
the  Modder  River  at  Klip  Drift,  where  he  came  upon 
a  large  Boer  camp,  which  he  seized,  with  all  its  valuable 
furnishings. 


264  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

As  the  march  continued  the  greatest  pains  were 
taken  to  suppress  the  predatory  instincts  of  Tommy 
Atkins,  who  is  but  human,  after  all,  and  to  secure  the 
goods  of  the  Boers  against  plunder. 

It  is  a  diametrically  different  course  to  that  which 
the  Boers  pursue  upon  British  territory.  It  differs 
from  the  common  custom  of  armies  in  the  country  of 
their  foes ;  and  it  was  certain  to  draw  from  the  Boers 
contempt  in  place  of  gratitude  ;  but  so  it  was,  and  we 
kept  order  to  such  an  extent  that  at  one  point  our 
men  asked  leave  of  some  women  to  gather  fruit  in  a 
garden.  The  Boer  men  showed  a  refined  and  lofty 
appreciation  of  our  sense  of  honor.  They  hid  in  the 
garden  and  shot  down  our  men  when  they  came  there. 

Having  crossed  the  Modder,  General  French  moved 
rapidly  on  toward  Kimberley,  which  he  reached  and 
entered  on  Wednesday.  At  Alexandersfontein  he  scat- 
tered a  large  force  of  the  enemy,  and  seized  a  large 
laager  and  depot  of  supplies  and  ammunition. 

When  he  reached  Kimberley  he  had  only  lost  one 
officer  killed,  and  twenty,  in  all  ranks,  wounded — a 
small  price  to  pay  for  so  dramatic  and  skilful  an  ex- 
pedition, and  for  restoring  the  high  hopes  and  en- 
thusiasm of  every  Britisher  in  South  Africa.  There 
was  almost  a  delirium  of  rejoicing  when  the  news 
reached  the  various  colonies  and  their  capitals. 

In  the  meantime  Jacobsdal  was  taken  by  Roberts's 
force.     This  little  white  and  yellow  village,  with  its 


THE  RELIEF  OF  KIMBERLEY        265 

German  hospital  and  imposing  Presbyterian  church 
beside  a  tree-bordered  single  street  with  a  ditch  on  one 
side,  had  been  tempting  Methuen's  army  for  two 
months.  It  was  the  headquarters  of  Cronje  and  the 
Boers  who  fought  us  at  Modder  River  and  Maaghers- 
fontein,  and  it  contained  great  stores  of  food  and  am- 
munition. We  might  have  seized  it  on  the  day  after 
the  fight  at  Maaghersfontein — so  a  number  of  military 
experts  have  said — but  we  missed  the  chance. 

While  General  French  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Jacobsdal  the  outposts  were  plagued,  as  by  mosquitoes, 
by  Boers  from  that  village.  A  small  force  was  sent  to 
the  place,  but  was  met  by  rifle  fire  from  the  houses  and 
garden-walls,  and  both  Briton  and  Boer  kept  their 
positions  till  night,  when  the  British  left  a  guard  and 
advanced  with  the  army. 

On  the  next  day,  the  15th  of  Februar}%  our  artillery 
routed  the  enemy.  They  escaped  from  the  village  but 
were  obliged  to  pass  over  a  ridge  in  full  view  of  our 
gunners,  who  riddled  them  with  shrapnel.  Thus  we 
gained  that  point,  and  found,  as  we  had  supposed,  that 
the  stores  had  been  removed  to  Boshof,  and  that  the 
place  was  now  merely  used  for  the  care  of  the  Boer 
sick  and  wounded. 

I  was  laid  up  with  a  troublesome  bruise,  and  am  only 
repeating  the  accounts  I  have  received  from  others. 
They  say  that  all  the  wretched,  semi-barbarous  inhab- 
itants of  the  place  who  appeared  in  the  streets  wore 


266  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

Red  Cross  badges  on  their  arms.  They  seem  never  to 
tire,  or  to  learn  to  feel  the  disgrace,  of  misusing  that 
sacred  emblem.  They  welcomed  the  British  "  not  as 
enemies  but  as  friends."  They  expressed  surprise  that 
their  stores  were  not  looted,  they  anathematised  their 
President,  who  had  betrayed  them,  they  vowed  that 
they  were  sick  of  the  war. 

Bah  !  how  long  are  our  leaders  to  be  tricked  by  such 
duplicity  and  cunning  ?  How  sickening  becomes 
their  double-dealing  when  one  learns  the  truth  about 
their  character  !  They  are  all  things  to  all  men. 
They  shift  their  coats  more  quickly  than  any  rapid- 
change-artist  of  the  music-halls. 

They  are  rampant,  blatant  English  haters,  thirsting 
for  English  blood,  but  the  instant  one  is  taken  prisoner, 
or  brought  wounded  to  a  British  hospital,  and  finds 
himself  among  Englishmen,  no  one  can  vie  with  him 
in  expressing  admiration  for  the  British,  in  condemning 
his  own  folly  for  having  fought  so  noble  a  foe,  and  in 
so  hopeless  a  cause.  Gratitude  he  does  not  know  or 
feign,  and  the  kind  treatment  he  gets  he  always  looks 
upon  as  a  proof  of  the  weakness  or  the  idiocy  of  his 
captors. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

RECORD   OF  THE   SIEGE 

The  siege  of  Kimberley  lasted  precisely  four 
months  and  two  days.  The  skilfully  directed  energy 
and  pluck  of  its  armed  men  under  Colonel  Kekewich, 
the  great  store  of  provisions  that  had  been  hoarded 
there  principally  by  the  De  Beers  Company,  and  the 
excellent  natural  fortifications  made  by  the  great 
mounds  of  earth  thrown  out  of  the  diamond  pits  and 
enclosing  three  sides  of  the  town,  were  its  threefold 
safeguard  and  salvation. 

Four  days  after  war  had  been  declared — that  is  to 
say,  on  October  14th — the  military  commandant, 
Lieut.-Colonel  Kekewich,  noticed  suspicious  activity 
on  the  part  of  the  Boers,  who  had  appeared  in  consid- 
erable numbers  both  to  the  north  and  the  south  of  the 
town.  Lieut-Colonel  Kekewich  commanded  about 
two  thousand  men — the  North  Lancashire  Regiment, 
the  Diamond  Fields  Horse,  and  a  considerable  Town 
Guard. 

Communication  with  Capetown  by  both  wire  and 
rail  had  been  unmolested,  and  a  special  train  had  but 

2(>^ 


268  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

just  come  in  from  the  Cape  with  tons  of  food  supplies. 
But  on  this  day  the  wires  southward  had  been  cut,  and 
the  people  learned  that  the  Boers  had  also  mutilated 
the  railway  line.  All  this  happened  near  Spytfontein, 
where  the  army  of  the  unfortunate  Methuen  two  and 
a  half  months  later  advanced  to  battle  and  was  re- 
pulsed at  Maaghersfontein. 

On  October  15th,  at  dawn,  the  armoured  train,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  Webster  of  the  Lancashires, 
and  supported  by  the  Diamond  Fields  Horse,  recon- 
noitred in  the  direction  of  Spytfontein,  where  the  veldt 
is  commanded  by  some  formidable  kopjes — the  last 
ones  on  the  road  to  the  Diamond  City  from  the  south. 

The  armoured  train  was  assaulted  by  artillery  fire, 
but  was  not  damaged,  nor  were  any  of  the  British 
killed  or  wounded  ;  but  their  response  with  Maxim 
guns  and  rifles  killed  five  Boers  and  wounded  a  large 
number. 

An  hour  before  noon  on  that  morning  the  alarm  was 
sounded  by  the  De  Beers  whistles.  All  the  troops  in 
town  were  gathered  in  camp,  interest  in  the  diamond 
mines  became  subordinated  to  the  impulse  for  self- 
preservation,  and  the  place  become  military  first  and 
all  else  after  that. 

Martial  law  was  at  once  proclaimed.  The  thorough- 
ness of  the  orders  then  issued  showed  that  the  leading 
spirits  of  the  place  had  foreseen  that  the  attractions 
of  the  diamond  beds  and  the  presence  of  Cecil  Rhodes 


RECORD  OF  THE  SIEGE  269 

in  the  place  would  render  it  a  marked  object  of  cov- 
etous attraction  to  the  enemy.  Indeed,  when  all  the 
facts  are  made  known,  the  forethought  and  liberality 
expended  upon  the  provisioning  of  Kimberley,  espe- 
cially if  not  solely  by  the  De  Beers  Company,  will 
strike  the  world  as  extraordinary. 

The  notice  proclaiming  martial  law  enjoined  all 
citizens  to  refrain  from  having  any  dealings  with  the 
enemy,  to  remain  indoors  after  9  p.m.  and  before 
6  a.m.,  or  else  provide  themselves  with  special  passes 
— unless  they  were  members  of  the  various  military 
forces  ;  to  immediately  give  notice  of  the  possession 
of  any  arms  or  ammunition,  and  so  on. 

Thus  began  the  new  order  of  things,  and  the  siege 
of  that  feverish  little  capital  whose  entire  existence 
had  been  flushed  with  excitement. 

As  was  to  have  been  expected,  some  of  the  mer- 
chants were  more  businesslike  than  compassionate,  and 
set  to  work  to  squeeze  inordinate  profits  out  of  the 
helplessness  of  their  neighbours.  They  reckoned  with- 
out thought  of  the  baronial  De  Beers  management  and 
of  Cecil  Rhodes,  alike  too  broad,  too  humane,  and  too 
sensible  of  the  responsibility  of  their  power  to  permit 
the  fleecing  of  the  many  through  the  cupidity  of  the 
few. 

Therefore  it  was  that,  on  October  20th,  the  follow- 
ing order  by  the  Mayor,  countersigned  by  Major 
W.  A.  T.  O'Meara,  was  issued : — 


2;o  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

"  Large  advances  having  taken  place  in  local  stores 
on  some  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  there  being  a 
likelihood  of  supplies  running  short  if  sold  out  in  large 
quantities,  the  following  prices  have  been  fixed  with 
the  local  tradesmen  until  further  notice,  and  no  goods 
are  to  be  sold  at  higher  prices  than  those  mentioned 
hereunder:  Fresh  salmon,  kippered  herrings,  &c.,  is. 
3d.  per  tin ;  sugar,  all  kinds,  4d.  per  lb.  ;  rice,  3d.  per 
lb.;  condensed  milk,  is.  per  tin  ;  candles,  is.  per  16  oz. 
packet ;  corned  beef,  i  lb.  tins,  is.  3d.  ;  2  lb.  tins,  2s.  ; 
bacon,  is.  6d,  per  lb.  ;  Boer  meal,  sifted,  3d.  per  lb.  ; 
Boer  meal,  unsifted,  2>^d.  per  lb. ;  tea  and  coffee,  no 
advance  on  original  prices.  All  other  necessaries  to 
be  sold  at  same  prices  as  before  communication  was 
cut  off.  Any  departure  from  the  above  will  be  dealt 
with  by  the  military  authorities.  Merchants  and 
holders  of  provision  stocks  are  hereby  empowered  to 
sell  only  in  such  quantities  as  they  deem  necessary, 
according  to  the  number  in  the  purchaser's  family." 

All  stores  were  ordered  to  close  at  5.30  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  excepting  Saturdays,  when  they  might 
keep  open  two  hours  later. 

From  that  best  of  South  African  journals,  the  Cape 
Times,  I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  an  account  of  the 
military  movements  which  took  place  during  the  siege 
and  defence  of  the  town.  Of  other  matters,  the  health 
and  comparative  happiness  of  the  people,  their  un- 
varying good  behaviour,  and  the  manner  in  which  their 


RECORD  OF  THE  SIEGE  271 

stores  were  husbanded  without  consequent  privation, 
there  is  little  or  nothing  to  be  said. 

Several  runners  who  came  to  Methuen's  army  re- 
ported at  different  times  that  the  feeding  of  the  native 
labourers,  in  the  compounds  at  the  mines,  gave  the 
authorities  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  uneasiness. 
There  were  thousands  of  these  blacks.  Twice  they 
had  been  released,  and  had  started  for  their  distant 
homes,  but  had  each  time  been  turned  back  by  the 
Boers. 

But  to  adhere  to  what  I  know.  Every  night  during 
all  those  weeks  Kimberley  flashed  its  searchlight 
signal  "  All  well  "  to  General  Methuen  and  his  force — 
every  night  but  one,  I  should  say,  for  there  was  one 
night,  that  of  the  battle  of  Modder  River  (November 
28th),  when  we  did  not  dare  to  communicate  with  them 
lest  the  Boers  should  shell  our  searchlight. 

That  was  a  sorry  night  for  the  Kimberley  folk,  be- 
cause they  had  heard  our  guns  and  had  counted  upon 
a  report  of  our  victory.  They  roamed  their  streets  all 
night,  and,  getting  no  signal  from  us  by  daybreak,  re. 
tired  to  their  beds  crushed  by  the  fear  that  we  had 
been  beaten — as,  alas !  we  were  to  be  at  the  very  next 
encounter,  five  miles  onward,  at  Maaghersfontein. 

On  October  24th  a  hot  engagement  took  place  out- 
side Kimberley.  Before  daybreak  a  patrol  of  Mounted 
Police  and  Volunteers  was  despatched  under  Colonel 
Scott-Turner   to  make   a   reconnaissance   northward, 


272  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

beyond  Macfarlane's  Farm.  An  armoured  train  sup- 
ported them.  Colonel  Scott-Turner  made  early  con- 
tact with  the  enemy,  who  were  first  seen  in  scattered 
parties  but  quickly  appeared  in  considerable  force,  en- 
deavouring by  manoeuvres  to  the  right  to  get  between 
him  and  the  armoured  train. 

Learning  that  fighting  had  begun,  Colonel  Kekewich 
sent  a  train  with  a  detachment  of  the  North  Lan- 
cashires,  commanded  by  Major  Murray,  and  two  guns 
and  the  Diamond  Fields  Artillery,  with  Captain  May. 

The  enemy  despatched  a  force  to  intercept  the  guns, 
occupying  a  strong  position  on  a  wooded  ridge  on  the 
right  of  the  road,  and  opened  fire  furiously  at  eight 
hundred  yards  range  before  our  guns  were  unlimbered. 

At  the  critical  moment  the  North  Lancashires  re- 
turned to  the  train,  which  had  gone  further  north,  and 
attacked  the  kopjes,  driving  the  enemy  out,  the  volley- 
firing  being  effective.  The  Boers  then  beat  a  hasty 
retreat.  The  body  of  Commandant  Botha  of  Boshof, 
the  Boer  leader,  was  found  shot  with  a  Lee-Metford 
bullet  through  the  right  breast.  Our  losses  were  four 
killed  and  nineteen  wounded.  The  Boer  loss  was 
heavy. 

On  November  i6th  a  force  of  mounted  men,  with 
a  detachment  of  Volunteer  Artillery,  made  a  sortie 
under  Colonel  Scott-Turner. 

A  somewhat  heavy  mist  delayed  the  advance,  and 
as  it  lifted  the  Boers,  were  discovered  in  possession  of 


RECORD  OF  THE  SIEGE  273 

the  schanzes  between  Carter's  Farm  and  the  reservoir. 

The  enemy  at  once  opened  fire,  and  several  of  our 
men  were  hit  during  the  first  few  volleys.  Our  guns 
and  Maxims  were  at  once  brought  into  action,  and  the 
Royal  Artillery  shelled  the  Boers'  guns  posted  on  the 
ridge  above  the  lazaretto. 

The  fight  lasted  from  ten  minutes  past  five  o'clock 
to  half-past  six  o'clock,  when  Colonel  Scott-Turner, 
having  ascertained  that  the  enemy  were  in  force,  re- 
turned to  Kimberley.  The  British  loss  was  one  killed 
and  eight  wounded.  Seven  Boers  were  killed  and 
several  wounded. 

In  the  sortie  which  took  place  a  week  later  Major 
Scott-Turner  met  his  death  while  gallantly  leading  his 
men  to  the  attack  in  an  engagement  at  Coster's  Farm. 

The  Kimberley  sortie  was  made  with  a  view  of  cap- 
turing a  large  Boer  gun  which  had  been  placed  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  lazaretto.  The  force  rushed  Coster's 
Farm,  and  proceeded  to  take  the  redoubts  leading  to 
the  gun.  They  took  four  of  these  strongholds,  but  at 
the  last  redoubt  the  Boers  sent  a  heavy  fire  into  the 
force,  and  our  men  retired  to  Coster's  Farm. 

While  Lord  Methuen  was  engaging  the  enemy  the 
bombardment  of  Kimberley,  which  had  been  almost 
incessant  from  the  middle  of  October,  eased  off  con- 
siderably, but  after  Maaghersfontein  it  was  renewed 
with  considerable  vigour.  The  shells,  however,  did 
comparatively  little  harm. 


274  TOWARDS  PRETORIA 

About  the  middle  of  November  shells  made  at  De 
Beers  workshops  were  used  by  the  garrison  with  telling 
effect,  and  early  in  January  a  28-pounder  gun  was 
manufactured  at  the  De  Beers  workshops,  and  was 
christened  "  Long  Cecil "  as  a  tribute  to  Mr.  Rhodes, 
who  had  exhibited  the  greatest  coolness  during  the 
siege,  devoting  his  leisure  to  providing  comforts  to  the 
wounded,  and  planting  trees  to  form  what  will  be 
known  in  history  as  Siege  Avenue. 

Hellographic  communication  with  Kimberley  was 
established  on  December  4th. 

The  local  paper  of  December  25th  said :  Excepting 
two  or  three  of  our  inhabitants,  who  shared  the  terrible 
privations  during  the  siege  of  Paris,  few  of  us  have 
ever  spent  such  a  Christmas  before,  and  few  will  ever 
care  to  spend  such  a  Christmas  again. 

There  was  a  scarcity  of  turkeys  and  plum-pudding 
this  time,  and  of  the  traditional  plenty,  but  this  only 
distressed  the  gourmand.  The  majority  of  the  people 
of  Kimberley  are  happily  made  of  sterner  stuff,  and  do 
not  look  for  luxuries  during  a  time  of  siege.  Never- 
theless, Mr.  Rhodes  has  again  come  to  the  rescue,  and 
is  providing  some  forty-two  plum-puddings  cooked  at 
the  Sanatarium,  for  distribution  between  the  various 
camps. 

Seasonable  wishes  are  freely  interchanged  by  tele- 
phone. "  Best  wishes  and  a  larger  range  to  your  guns  *' 
was  received  by  the  Royal  Artillery  from  the  Mounted 


RECORD  OF  THE  SIEGE  275 

Camp,  to  which  the  following  reply  was  sent :  "  Good 
wishes  reciprocated.  May  our  range  be  always  long 
enough  to  be  a  guardian  angel  to  the  Mounted  Corps." 
Notwithstanding  the  festivities,  additional  precautions 
were  taken  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  catching  us 
napping. 

Later  news  showed  that  the  bombardment  con- 
tinued, that  *'  Long  Cecil "  replied  to  the  enemy's 
attack,  and  that  the  garrison  suffered  little  or  no  loss. 
On  tlie  9th  of  February  the  despatch  of  press  messages 
from  Kimberley  was  temporarily  forbidden,  owing 
presumably  to  the  necessity  for  reticence  as  to  the 
initial  stages  of  the  progress  of  General  French,  so 
quickly  to  be  attended  with  the  happiest  result  to  the 
patient  and  hopeful  little  beleaguered  city. 


MAP    OF    THE    SEAT    OF    WAR 


"^^i-^^^t^  "*^ 

'  '"'^ 

^'W 

L 

% 

APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I. 

CHIEF  EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR. 
1899. 

Oct.  10. — Boer  ultimatvim  delivered. 
II. — War  begins. 

I. 
Natal  Campaign. 

12. — Boer  troops  entered  Natal. 
13. — Newcastle  abandoned. 
14. — Newcastle  occupied  by  Boers. 
18. — Action  near  Acton  Homes. 

Boers  advanced  towards  Glencoe. 
19. — Train  captured  by  the  Boers  at  Elandslaagte. 
20. — Battle  of  Glencoe. 

Boers  capture  large  number  of  Hussars. 
21. — Battle  at  Elandslaagte. 

Second  attack  on  Glencoe. 
22. — General  Yule  retreated  from  Dundee. 
23. — Boers  entered  Dundee. 

Death  of  General  Symons. 
24. — Engagement  at  Rietfontein. 
26. — General  Yule's  column  arrived  at  Ladysmith. 
30. — Disaster  of  Nicholson's  Nek. 
Nov.    9. — British  victory  at  Ladysmith. 

15. — Armoured   train   derailed   at   Chieveley  :  Mr.    Winston 

Spencer  Churchill  captured. 
23. — Engagement  at  Beacon  Hills. 

277 


278  APPENDICES 

Nov.  25. — Sir  Redvers  Buller's  arrival  in  Natal. 
26. — British  advance  from  Estcourt. 
28. — Boers  blew  up  Colenso  Bridge. 
Dkc    8. — Sortie    from    Ladysmith.       Three     large    Boer     guns 

destroyed  and  Maxim  captured. 
10. — Sortie  from  Lady  smith.     Gun  blown  up. 
14. — Mr.    Winston     Spencer     Churchill    reported    to    have 

escaped  from  Pretoria. 
15. — Sir  Redvers  Buller  suffered  reverse  while  attempting  to 

force  the  passage  of  the  Tugela, 
21. — Mr.  Winston  Churchill  arrived  at  Lourenzo  Marques. 
Jan.    6. — Boer  attacks  in  force  on  Ladysmith  beaten  off. 
ID. — Forward  movement  for  the  relief  of  Ladysmith. 
II. — Sir  Redvers    Buller   occupied  the   south   bank   of  the 

Tugela  at  Potgieter's  Drift. 
Lord    Dundonald    and    Mounted   Brigade  crossed    the 

Tugela  at  Potgieter's  Drift. 
15. — Death   of  Mr.  G.   W.   Steevens,    Correspondent  of  the 

Daily  Mail,  at  Ladysmith. 
16.— ^General   Lyttelton's    Brigade    crossed    the    Tugela    at 

Potgieter's  Drift. 
17. — Sir   Charles  Warren's   Division   crossed   the  Tugela  at 

Trichard's  Drift. 
General  Lyttelton's  Brigade  shelled  the  Boers. 
18. — The  Tugela  bridged   and   crossed    by    a   brigade    and 

battery. 
20. — Sir  C.  Warren  moved  towards  Spion  Kop. 
21. — Heavy  fighting  by  General  Clery's  forces. 
22. — Sir  C.  Warren's  entire  army  engaged. 
23.— Spion  Kop  captured  by  Sir  C.  Warren  :  General  Wood- 
gate  wounded. 
25. — Abandonment  of  Spion  Kop. 
27. — Sir  C.   Warren's  force  withdrawn  to  the  south  of  the 

Tugela. 
Feb.    5. — General  Buller  crossed  the  Tugela  at  Manger's  Drift. 
6. — General  Buller  captured  Vaal  Krantz  Hill. 
7. — Vaal  Krantz  Hill  evacuated  and  the  Tugela  recrossed. 

General  Buller  captured  Monte  Cristo. 
20.— General  Hart  crossed  the  Tugela  and  occupied  Colenso. 
26.— General  Buller  returned  to  the  south  of  the  Tugela. 


APPENDICES  279 

Feb.  27. — Pieters  Hill  stormed  and  Boers'  main  position  carried. 

28. — Relief  of  Ladysmith, 
Mar.    2. — General  Buller  formally  entered  Ladysmith. 


Orange  Free  State  Campaign. 

Oct.  12. — Mr.  Rhodes  arrived  at  Kimberley. 
20. — Fighting  near  Kimberley. 
31. — Sir  Redvers  Buller  arrived  at  Cape  Town. 
Nov.    2.— Fighting  on  Tatham's  Farm,  near  Besters. 
Colenso  evacuated. 

Ladysmith  isolated  and  communication  cut  off. 
3. — Stormberg  abandoned. 

10.— Engagement  to  the   east  of  Belmont  :  Colonel  Keith- 
Falconer  killed. 
12. — Lord  Methuen  arrived  at  Orange  River. 
20. — Lord  Methuen's  force  reached  Witteputs. 
23. — Battle  of  Belmont. 
25. — Battle  of  Enslin. 
28. — Battle  of  Modder  River. 

Boer  laager  near  Kimberley  captured. 
Dec.    8. — Engagement  at  Graspan. 

10.— Lord  Methuen  moved  forward  from  Modder  River  and 

bombarded  enemy's  trenches. 
II.— Battle  of  Maaghersfontein  :  General  Wauchope  killed. 
12.— Lord  Methuen  retired  to  Modder  Bridge. 
23.— Departure  of  Lord  Roberts  from  Southampton. 
Jan.    9.— British  troops  invaded  Free  State  Territory  near  Jacobs- 
dal. 


APPENDIX  n. 

ARMY  DECORATIONS  AND  PROMOTIONS  FOR  GAI4- 
LANTRY,  ETC.,  AT  THE  SEAT  OF  WAR. 

V.C. 

Announced  February  2,  1900. 

Captain  W.  N.  Congreve,  Rifle  Brigade,  Colenso,  Dec.  15,  1899. 
Late  Lieut.   Hon.  F.  H.  S.  Roberts,  K.  R.  R.,  Colenso,  Dec.  15, 

1899. 
Corporal  G.  E.  Nurse,  R.  F.  A.,  Colenso,  Dec.  15,  1899. 
Captain  H.  L.  Reed,  R.  F.  A.,  Colenso,  Dec.  15,  1899. 

Distinguished  Service  in  the  Fiei.d  (D.S.O.) 
Announced  February  2,  1900. 


Corporal  A.  Clark, 

Colenso, 

Dec.  15,  1899. 

(( 

R.  J.  Money, 

(( 

<( 

Acting  Bombardier  J.  H. 

Reeve, 

i< 

Driver  H.  Taylor, 

(t 

it 

«< 

H.  G.  Young, 

« 

<« 

li 

J.  E.  Petts, 

«« 

N 

<c 

G.  Rockall, 

«< 

M 

c< 

E.  W.  Lucas, 

•« 

ffC 

(( 

F.  Williams, 

«c 

«C 

<c 

C.  J.  Woodward, 

M 

«f 

i( 

W.  Robertson, 

M 

W 

CI 

W.  Wright, 

*« 

<C 

<< 

A.  C.  Hawkins, 

M 

CS 

CI 

J.  P.  Lennox, 

« 

M 

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A.  Nugent  (late). 

«« 

(» 

l< 

J.  Warden, 

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li 

(( 

A.  Felton, 

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II 

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T.  Musgrove, 

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II 

Trumpeter  W.  W.  Ayles, 

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280 

-' 

APPENDICES  281 

Announced  March  13,  1900. 
Private  G.  H.  Day,  6th  Dragoon  Guards,  Anmdel. 

ARMY   PROMOTIONS. 
Announced  February  19,  1900. 

Colonel  and  local  Lieut. -General  French,  Major-General,  Relief  of 

Kimberley,  Feb.  16,  1900. 
Lieut. -Colonel  Kekewich,  Colonel.     Relief  of  Kimberley,  Feb.  16, 

1900. 

NAVAL  PROMOTIONS. 

C.B. 

Announced  March  13,  1900. 

Captain  Hon.  H.  Lambton,  H.  M.  S.  Terrible^  for  services  in  South 

Africa. 
Captain  Percy  M.  Scott,  H.  M.  S.  Terrible,  for  services  in  South 

Africa. 


Lieut.  F.  C.  A.  Ogilvy,  H.  M.  S.  Terrible,  to  be  Commander,  for 
services  under  Sir  R.  Buller. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Bugler  Dunn,  ist  Royal  Dublin  Fusiliers.     Colenso,  Dec.  15,  1899. 

Received  by  Queen  Feb.  19,  1900,  and  presented  with  silver 

bugle. 
The  Irish  regiments  to  wear  Shamrock.     Order  March  8,  1900. 


APPENDIX  in. 

THE  COMMANDS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

Field  Marshal  I/)rd  Robe;rts,  K.P.,  V.C.,  &c.,  Commander-in- 
Chief. 

Staff. 

Major-General  Lord  Kitchener,  G.C.B.,  Chief  of  the  Staff. 

Major-General  Pretyman,  C.B.,  Commandant  Headquarters. 

Major-General  G.  Marshall,  Commanding  Royal  Artillery. 

Major-General  E.  Wood,  C.B.,  Chief  of  Engineers. 

Surgeon-General  W.  Wilson,  M.B. ,  Principal  Medical  Officer. 

Sir  William  MacCormac,  Bart.,  K.C.V.O.,  Chief  Consulting 
Surgeon. 

Lieut. -General  Sir  F.  W.  E.  T.  Forestier- Walker,  Commanding 
lines  of  Communication. 

Brigadier- General  J,  Wolfe  Murray,  Brigadier  on  lines  of  Com- 
munication. 

Major-General  Sir  F.  Carrington,  K.C.B.,  on  Special  Service. 

Major-General  W.  Kelly,  C.B.,  on  Special  Service. 

Ladysmith. 

Lient.-General  Sir  G.  White,  V.C.,  in  Command. 
Major-General  Sir  A.  Hunter,  Second  in  Command. 
Acting  Brigadier-General  Colonel  Ian  Hamilton. 
Acting  Brigadier-General  Colonel  F.  Howard. 
Major-General  Brocklehurst,  M.V.O.,  Cavalry. 

Army  of  Relief. 

General  Sir  R.  H.  Bidler,  V.C.,  in  Command  in  NataL 

Generals  of  Divisions, 

Lieut. -General  Sir  C.  F.  Clery,  2nd  Division. 
Lieut. -General  Sir  C.  Warren,  5th  Division. 
282 


APPENDICES  283 

Generals  of  Brigade. 

Major-General  Hon.  N.  G.  Lyttelton,  4th  Brigade.  Acting  as 
General  of  Division  since  the  withdrawal  of  General  Clery, 
wounded. 

Major-General  A.  Fitzroy  Hart,  5th  Brigade. 

Major-General  G.  Barton,  6th  Brigade. 

Major-General  H.  J.  T.  Hildyard,  2nd  Brigade. 

Major-General  A.  S.  Wynne  (vice  Woodgate,  wounded)  9th 
Brigade. 

Major-General  J.  T.  Coke,  loth  Brigade. 

Acting  Major-General  Colonel  Kitchener,  specially  formed  Brigade. 

Acting  Major-General  Colonel  Northcott,  specially  formed  Brigade. 

Acting  Major-General  Lord  Dundonald,  Cavalry. 

Main  Army  under  Lord  Roberts. 
Generals  of  Division. 

Lieut. -General  Lord  Methuen,  ist  Division. 
Lieut. -General  Kelly-Kenny,  C.B.,  6th  Division. 
Lieut. -General  Tucker,  7th  Division. 
Acting  Lieut. -General  Sir  H.  Colville,  9th  Division. 
Acting  Lieut. -General  J.  D.  P.  French,  Cavalry  Division. 
Acting  Lieut. -General  J.  P.  Brabazon,  Imperial  Yeomanry  Division. 
Acting  Major-General   J.  M.  Babington,   Assistant-Adjutant-Gen- 
eral. 

Generals  of  Brigade — Infa^itry. 

Major-General  Pole-Carew,  ist  Brigade. 
Major-General  Douglas,  9th  Brigade. 
IVIajor-General  H.  Macdonald,  3rd  Brigade. 
Major-General  Knox  (wounded),  12th  Brigade. 
IMajor-General  Smith  Dorrien,  13th  Brigade. 
]\Iajor-General  Sir  H.  Chermside,  14th  Brigade. 
Major-General  A.  G.  Wavell,  15th  Brigade. 

Generals  of  Brigade— Cavalry  and  Moimted  Infantry. 
Acting   Major-General   Broadwood    (loth    Hussars),    ist   Cavalry 

Brigade. 
Acting  Major-General  Porter  (6th  Dragoon  Guards),  2nd  Cavalry 

Brigade. 


284  APPENDICES 

Acting    Major-General    Gordon    (i6th    Lancers),    3rd    Cavalry 

Brigade. 
Acting  Major-General  Henry,  Mounted  Infantry  Brigade. 
Acting  Major-General  Ridley,  Mounted  Infantry  Brigade. 

The  name  of  the  commander  of  the  third  mounted  infantry 
brigade,  in  succession  to  Acting  Major-General  Hannay,  recently 
killed,  has  not  yet  been  announced. 

Central  Columns :  North  Cape  Colony. 

Sterkstroom  Column  :  Lieut. -General  Sir  W.  F.  Gatacre. 
Rensburg  Column  :  Major-General  R.  A.  P.  Clements,  D.S.O. 
Dordrecht  Column  :  Major-General  Brabant,  Commanding  Colonial 
Mounted  Infantry  Division. 

En  route  to  the  Cape. 

Lieut. -General  Sir  H.  M.  Rundle,  8th  Division. 
Major-General  Campbell,  M.V.O.,  i6th  Brigade. 
Major-General  J.  E.  Boyes,  17th  Brigade. 
Major-General  J.  B.  B.  Dickson,  C.B.,  4th  Cavalry  Brigade. 


APPENDIX  IV. 

TABLES  OF  BRITISH  AND  BOER  ORDNANCE. * 

The  following  tables  are  not  intended  to  set  up  invidious  com- 
parisons between  our  own  and  the  foreign-made  artillery,  with 
which  our  enemy  has  equipped  himself  ;  their  mission  is  simply  to 
furnish  information  concerning  a  subject  which  of  all  military  sub- 
jects it  is  the  most  difficult  for  the  civilian  to  follow  intelligently. 
The  headings,  by  the  side  of  which  the  various  details  of  dimen- 
sion, weight,  &c.,  connected  with  each  piece  of  ordnance,  together 
with  those  of  its  projectiles,  are  arranged,  have  been  carefully  se- 
lected so  as  to  show  all  that  it  is  most  important  to  show  without 
entering  into  abstruse  technicalities. 

These  headings,  such  as  "  Gun,"  "  Construction,"  "Calibre," 
&c.,  explain  themselves,  but  a  few  words  may  be  added  concerning 
"  Maximum  Range  with  Common  Shell."  This,  in  fact,  is 
intended  to  demonstrate  the  maximum  effective  range  of  the  gun, 
which  is  always  based  upon  range  practice  with  this  particular 
type  of  projectile,  the  reason  being  that  the  other  two  standard 
types — viz.,  shrapnel  and  case  shot — either  by  their  mechanism  or 
construction,  themselves  govern  the  range  at  which  they  can  be 
employed.  For  example,  the  time  fuse,  upon  which  the  efficacy 
of  the  shrapnel  shell  rests,  is  not  yet  constructed  to  act  at  ranges 
beyond  5,000  yards  ;  while  case  shot,  which  consists  of  a  canister 
of  balls  that  separate  from  their  envelope  on  leaving  the  muzzle,  is 
not  effective  beyond  800  yards  from  sheer  lack  of  motive  power. 
But  common  shell,  or  locomotive  mine,  bursts  upon  impact,  which 
may  mean  not  till  it  has  reached  the  limit  of  the  force  exercised  by 
the  carrying  powers  of  its  gun. 

Elevation,  again,  has  much  to  do  with  the  question  of  range. 
The  provision  for  high  elevation  alone  accounts  for  the  marked 
superiority  in  this  particular  exhibited  by  the  15  cm.  and  12  cm. 
Creusot  guns  over  our  4.7  in.,  6  in.,  and  12-pounder  naval  guns, 
also  by  the  i4X-pounder  Creusot  field  piece  over  our  15-pounder. 
Our  naval  guns,  it  must  be  remembered,  have  been  primarily  de- 

*  (Reprinted  by  the  kind  permission  of  the  Editor  of  the  Daily  Chronicle.') 

28s 


286 


APPENDICES 


signed  for  use  against  ships  on  ships  or  coast  defences,  and  in  these 
circumstances  they  employ  of  course  armour-piercing  shells.  The 
latter  must  penetrate  the  target  aimed  at,  hence  in  their  flight  flat- 
ness of  trajectory  is  essential.  Now  it  stands  to  reason  that  flatness 
of  trajectory  vanishes  when  the  gun  is  fired  at  anything  above  a 
small  angle  of  elevation.  Therefore,  the  distances  scheduled  in 
the  following  tables,  which  are  those  for  which  the  three  pieces 
are  sighted  in  their  normal  employment,  are  doubtless  being 
greatly  exceeded  from  the  extra  elevation  that  is  sure  to  have  been 
allowed  for  in  Captain  Scott's  land  carriages.  In  the  case  of  the 
field  guns  mentioned  our  15-pounder  cannot  be  elevated  more  than 
16  degrees,  as  compared  to  the  20  degrees  of  the  Boer  weapon — a 
difference  quite  sufficient  to  account  for  the  superiority  of  the  latter 
in  maximum  range  : — 


Table  A. 

—British  Guns 

OF  Position. 

Naval  Service. 

*                *                * 

Siege  Train. 

Land  Service.              Howitzer. 

B.  L.  Gun 

6-in.  Q.  F. 
B.  L.  Gun 

i2-pr.Q.F. 
B.  L.  Gun 

5-in. 
B.  L.  Gun 

4-in. 
B.  L,  Gun 

6-in. 
B.L. 

Construction 

Calibre,  inches 

Total  length  of   gun, 

Wire 
4.72 

I95-' 

42  cwt. 

2,188 

?t 

Common 

Shell 

45 
Lyddite 

9,000 

Wire 
6 

249.2 

7  tons 

2,000 

?  + 

Common 

Shell 

100 

Lyddite 

or 
Powder 

10,000 

Steel 
3 

123.6 

12  cwt. 

2,210 

?  + 

Common 

Shell 

12.S 

Powder 

8,000 

Steel 
5 

139-5 

40  cwt. 

1,750 

Common 

Shell 
Shrapnel 
50 

Lyddite 

236 
8,700 

Steel 
4 

120 

26  cwt. 
1,900 

Common 

Shell 

Shrapnel 

25 

Powder 

134 
7,700 

Steel 
6 

94 

30  cwt. 
779 

Common 

Nominal    weight   of 
gun,  including 
breech 

Muzzle  velocity,  feet 
per  second 

If  Q.F.,  rate  of  aimed 
fire  per  minute 

Projectiles 

Weight  or  ditto,  lbs. 
Explosive    in    Com- 
mon Shells 

Bullets   in   Shrapnel 

Max.     Range      with 

Common  Shell,yds. 

Shell 

Shrapnel 

II8J4 

Lyddite 

518 
10,000 

*These  three  types  of  Naval  Guns  are  all  mounted  upon  Captain  Percy  Scott's  im- 
provised land  carriages.  The  6-in.  gim  was  taken  from  the  Terrible  on  Feb.  12th,  or 
thereabouts,  and  sent  to  Durban  on  a  Scott  carriage. 

+  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  rate  of  fire  per  minute  when  mounted  upon  im- 
provised carriages. 


APPENDICES 

Table  B. — Boer  Guns  of  Position. 


287 


Gun. 


Construction 

Calibre,  inches 

Total  length  of  gun 

Nominal   weight   of  gun, 

including  breech 

Muzzle  veloc.  ft.  per  sec. 
If   Q.   F.,  rate   of  aimed 

fire  per  minute 

Projectiles 

Weight  of  do.,  lbs 

Explosive  in  Com.  Shell. 

Bullets  in  Shrapnel 

Max.  Rge.  with  Com.  Shi, 


24  cm. 
Creusot 
Fortress 
Gun  * 


Coiled  Steel 

9-45 

263.3  in. 

13.78  tons 
1,732 


Common 
Shell 


346 
Melinite 


«7,5oo 


15  era. 
Creusot 
Q.  F. 
"  Long  " 
Gun  of 
Position    t 
Steel 
5-9 
1535 

2.71  tons 
1,879 


Common 

Shell 
Shrapnel 

94 
Melinite 


,537  § 


12  cm. 
Krupp. 
B.  L. 
Howitzer^ 


Steel 
4.72 
45  in- 


cwt. 


Common 

Shell 
Shrapnel 

44 
Powder 
460 
6,342 


Creusot 

Gun  of 

Position 


Steel 

472 

122.8 


.37  tons 
1,706 


Common 

Shell 
Shrapnel 

,,3?;7. 
Mehnite 
> 

11,000  § 


o  o 
c.«    . 

3   OT3 


J2  °  'oiS 


*  Fortunately,  there  appears  to  be  some  doubt  whether  these  formidable  pieces,  in- 
tended for  the  forts  at  Pretoria,  have  ever  reached  here. 

+  The  travelling  carriages  for  these  guns  are  very  light  and  simple.  They  are  espe- 
cially adapted  to  defend  entrenchmei.  s,  or,  in  fact,  for  any  purpose  which  requires  a 
frequent  change  of  position. 

t  The  South  African  Republic  possesses  only  one  or  two  of  these  howitzers. 

§  With  the  elevation  of  35  degrees. 


Table   C. — British  Field  Guns. 


Horse 
Batteries. 

Field 
Batteries. 

Howitzer 
Batteries. 

Mountain 
Batteries. 

Naval 
Brigade.* 

i2-pr.B.L. 

Wire 

3 

66.75 

6  cwt. 

1,553 

Shrapnel 

12.5 

162 
4,500 

15-p.  B.  L. 

Steel 

3 

92.35 

7  cwt. 

1,574 

6  to  St 

Shrapnel, 

Case 

15 

210 

5,500 

5  in.  B.  L. 

Steel 
S 

49 

9^A  cwt. 

782 

Com.  Shell 
Shrapnel 

50 

Lyddite 
372 

4.900 

7-p.  R.  M.  L. 
Steel  Jointed. 

2-5 

70.45 
400  lbs. 
1,440 

Ring  Shell, 

Shrapnel, 

Star  Shell 

7K 

Black 

Powder 

lOI 

3,i8s 

i2-p.  Q.F.B.L. 
Steel 

Construction      

Calibre,  inches 

Total    length    of   Gun, 

3 

87.6 
8  cwt. 
1,607 
8 

Nominal  weight  of  gun, 

including  breech 

Muzzle  velocity,  feet  per 

If  Q.  F.,  rate  of  aimed 
fire  per  minute 

Weight  of  ditto,  lbs.... 

Explosive  in   Common 

Shell 

Shell 
12.5 

Bullets  in  Shrapnel 

Max.  Range  with  Com- 
mon Shell,  yards 

6.000 

*  These  Field  Guns  carried  by  our  warships  are  available,  but  have  not  yet  been 
utilised.  t  With  Sir  G.  Clarke's  "  spade  "  apparatus. 


288 


APPENDICES 


Table  D, — Boer  Field  Guns. 


Quick  Firing  Guns. 

Gun 

i4^pr. 

7.5  cm. 

*  37  mm. 

75  mm. 

Creusot, 

Maxim- 

Maxim 

Krupp  B.  L. 
Field  Gun. 

Model,  1895 

Nordenfeldt 

Construction 

Nickel  Steel 

Steel 

Steel 

Nickel  Steel 

Calibre  inches. . . 

2.96 
98 

2.96 

1.45 

73-75 

2.96 

70.8 

Total  length  of  gun,  in. . 

Nominal  weight  of  gun, 

including  breech,  cwt.. 

6Ji  cwt. 

6  cwt. 

4  cwt. 

5%  cwt. 

Muzzle  vel.,  ft.  per  sec. 

1,837 

1,  640 

1,800 

1,476 

If  Q.  F.,    rate   of  aimed 

fire  per  minute 

8toio 

10 

300 

— 

Projectiles 

Shrapnel 

Common 

Small 

Common 

Shell 

Explosive 

Shell 

Shrapnel 

Shell 

Shrapnel 

Weight  of  do  ,1b 

Explosive  in  Com.  Shell 
Bullets  in  Shrapnel 

145 

13  K 

I  lb 

12 

Melinite 

Powder 

Black  Powder 

234 

250 

— 

250 

Max.    Range   with  Com- 

mon Shell,  yards 

8,700 1 

6,000 

4,000 

S.ooo 

Also  some  2.5  in.  R.  M.   L.  Mountain  Guns  (see  Table  C),  and  12-pr.  B.  L.   Field 

Guns  (see  Table   E),  all  purchased  in  this  countr>'  circa  1894. 

*  Nicknamed  by  our  troops  the   "  Pom-Poms."     The  British   Government   has  now 
purchased  some  of  these.  t  With  the  elevation  of  20  degrees. 


Table  E.— British  Field  Guns  (Volunteer  Contingents.*). 

Hon.   Artil- 
lery Co. 

South  African  Local  Corps. 

Q.'??g'-L. 

Vick.-Max. 

Steel  and 

Wire 

3 

75-5 

5-5    cwt. 
1,720 

14  to  18  t 

Shrapnel 

Case  shot 

12.S 

162 
6,500 

12-pr. 

B.L. 

Mark  I. 

Steel 

3 
92-35 

7  cwt. 
1,574 

Common 
Shell 

Shrapnel 
Case 
12.5 

Powder 

177 

4,500 

9-pr. 
R.  M.  L. 

Wrought 
Iron  and 
Steel 
3 

74-5 

6  cwt. 
1,330 

Common 

Shell 
Shrapnel 

Case 
C.  S.  9  lb. 

Shr. 

9  lb.  12  oz. 

Powder 

63 

4,000 

7-pr. 
R.  M.   L. 

Steel 

2.94 
41 

200  lbs. 
950 

Double        ^ 

Shell    ( 

Com.Shll.    f 

Shrapnel      j 

Powder 
42 

3,000 

•0 

-a 

3 

3-pr. 

Hotch. 

Q.  F.Gun. 

Steel 

Calibre,  inches 

Total  length  of  gun,  in. 
Nominal  weight  of  gun, 

including  breech 

Muzzle  vel.,  ft.  per  sec. 
If  Q.  F.,  rate  of  aimed 

fire  per  minute 

1.85 
80.6 

5  cwt. 
1,873 

25 

Weight  of  ditto,  lbs.... 

Explosive  in  Common 
Shell 

Bullets  in  Shrapnel.... 

Maximum  Range,  with 
Common  Shell,  yards 

Common 
Shell 

3 

Powder 

4,000 

*  Canadian  and  New  South  Wales  Artillery  Contingents  are  equipped  with  is-pr. 
Q.  F.  B.  L.  Guns,  same  as  those  scheduled  in  Table  C,  while  the  gun  detachment  is 
protected  by  bullet-proof  shields  on  the  carriage. 

t  Eighteen  shots  per  minute  possible  with  case  shots  only. 


APPENDIX  V. 

OFFICIAL  TABLE  OF  CASUALTIES. 

The  War  Office  has  issued  the  following  List  of  Casualties 
IN  the  Field  Force,  South  Africa,  up  to  and  including 
March  io. 


Casualties  in  Action. 
Name  of  Engagement. 


Total  casualties  reported  up 
to  and  including  March 
lO — 

Belmont,  Nov.  23 

Colenso,  Dec.  15 

Dundee,  Oct.   20 

Elandslaagte,    Oct.  21. 

Enslin  (Graspan),  Nov. 

25 

Farquhar's    Farm  and 

Nicholson's        Nek. 

Oct.  30 

Klip  Kraal,  Feb.  16.... 
Maaghersfontein,  Dec 


Monte   Cristo    (Colen 
so),   &c.,    Feb.  15  to 

18 

Modder  River,  Nov.  28. 
Natal,  Feb.  14  to  27... 
Paardeberg,  Feb.  16  to 

27 

Potgieter's  Drift,  Feb. 

5  t07 

Rietfontein,  Oct.  24.  . . 
Spion    Kop,  &c.,   Jan. 

17  to  24 

Stormberg,  Dec.  10 

Willow   Grange,    Nov. 

23 

At   Ladysmith    during    in- 
vestment— 

Battle  of  Jan.  6 

Other  casualties 

At    Kimberley    during  in- 
vestment  

At  Mafeking 

Other  Casualties > . . 


Total    reported    up   to 
March  10 


Killed. 


O  S 
.-a 


148 


13 

66 

260 


Wounded 


O  S 


647 


Died  of 
Wounds 
(Included 

Wounded). 


OS 

^5 


Missing 

and 

Prisoners.* 


25 


30 


^1 

.  c 


906+ 
7 

T07 


340 
620 


Total 

Killed, 

Wounded, 

Missing, 

and 
Prisoners. 


O  ^ 


270 

1,054 

430 

223 


18s 


,191 
118 


170 

46X 

2,060 


.439 


1,642 
702 


85 


373 
279 

"7 

219 

.579 


19 


194     1,847    601     8,755      40        365     150  3,372+    945    13.974 

289  ' 


290 


APPENDICES 


Other  Casualties. 

Offi- 
cers. 

N.C.O.'s 
and  Men. 

Other  Casualties. 

Offi- 
cers. 

N.C.O.'s 
and  Men. 

Total  up  to  and  including 

Total  losses  in  the  Field 
Force,  South  Africa,  ex- 

March 10 — 

cluding  sick  and  wound- 
ed  men  still    in    British 

Died    of     disease    in 

hospitals  in  South  Af- 
rica, up  to  March  10 — 

South  Africa 

26 

904 

Killed  in  action 

194 

1,847 

Died  of  Wounds 

40 

36s 

Accidental   deaths   in 

Missing  and  prisoners 

ISO 

3,372t 

Died  of  disease 

26 

904 

South  Africa 

2 

23 

Accidental  deaths 

2 

23 

Sent  home  as  invalids 

103 

2,771 

38 

,86 

Total 

515 

Wounded 

9,282 

Total  losses  ^exclusive  of 

^>— — y--— ^ 

Sick 

24 

1,337 

sick  and  wounded  men 
now  in  British  hospitals 

9.7Q7 

Not  specified  which.. 

41 

448 

in  South  Africa) 

*  A  complete  list  of  prisoners  has  not  been  obtained. 

t  Including  missing  men  of  Royal  Irish   Fusiliers,  numbers  not  reported,  but  esti- 
mated at  442. 


13 


APPENDIX  VI. 


GLOSSARY    OF    BOER    TERMS     AND    THEIR     ENGLISH 

EQUIVALENTS,  SPECIALLY   PREPARED   BY  A 

JOHANNESBURGER  FOR  THIS  VOLUME 


Berg 

=  mountain. 

Boom 

=  tree. 

Bosch 

=  bush. 

Bron 

==  spring. 

Brug 

=  bridge.     C 

Bidt 

Burg 
Dorp 

Fontein 

Heil 

Heilbron 

Kaallaagte 

Kanieel 

Kloof 
Kraal 

Kopje 

Laager 


Laagte 

Paard,  orperd 
Raad 


Raadhuis 


Compare    Scotch    and    Old    English 

"  brig." 
a  smooth  ride,  in  contradistinction  to  *'  rand." 

A  "  down." 
town,  borough,  or  burgh, 
thorp,  hamlet,  or  village, 
spring, 
health. 

spring  of  health, 
bare  valley, 
not    camel,     but    giraffe.      Kameelfontein     is 

* '  Fountain  of  the  Giraffes. ' ' 
a  gap,  clovefi  between  two  hills, 
a  corruption  of  a  word  cognate  to  corral.     An 

enclosure  for  cattle, 
peak,   rather  than  hill.     It  may,   however,  be 

used  to  indicate  the  latter, 
a  fortification  made  by  placing  waggons  in  a 

circle,  locking  their  poles  together,  and  filling 

up  all  gaps  with  thorny  mimosa  bushes  or 

other    obstructions.     It    is  now  often    used 

merely  to  denote  camp, 
valley, 
horse. 
Council,  but  is  usually   qualified   by  a  prefix. 

Uitvoerende  Raad  is  the  Executive  Council. 

Volksraad  is  one  of  the  deliberative  assemblies 

or  parliaments. 
House  of  Parliament,  but  not  used  in  Pretoria, 

291 


292 


APPENDICES 


Raad 

Riem 

Riet 

Rivier 

Ronde 

Ruigte 

Sjambok 

Spruit 
Sweep 
Vaal 
Veld 

Veld-comet 
Veldheer 


Vlei 

Volksraad 
Vrij 


Win 

Witwatersrand 

Zeekoe 


as  two  chambers  are  set  apart  in  the  Govern- 
ment Buildings  there  (Gouvemements  Geb- 
ouwen)  for  the  two  assemblies.  These  cham- 
bers are  each  known  as  a  "  raadzaal."  Com- 
pare French  salle. 

means  a  rough  ridge  when  describing  natural 
features. 

thong  of  dressed  leather  used  to  couple  yoked 
oxen  together. 

:  reed  or  wild  cane. 

a  river. 

=  round. 

:  scrubby  copse. 

:  a  whip  of  giraffe  or  other  tough  hide — pro- 
nounced shambok. 

a  small  stream. 

:  whip. 

:  grey.     Vaal  Rivier  is  the  Grey  River. 
not  field,  as  we  understand  it,  but  open  country 
like  the  prairies. 

:  Field-cornet. 

:  Commander,  but  is  not  used  in  ordinary  South 
African  Dutch  patois.  It  is  good  Dutch,  and 
means  a  commander  of  armies.  Commandant- 
General  is  General,  then  Commandant  Dis- 
trict-General, then  Field-cornet  is  a  Colonel, 
or  rather  a  combination  of  Colonel  and  Major, 
Assistant  Field-comet  is  a  Captain.  In  the 
artillery  the  ranks  run  down  from  Colonel  as 
with  us. 
a  marsh,  it  is  a  contraction  of  vallei,  but  it  does 

not  mean  valley. 
Parliament. 

Free.  In  the  English  form  of  any  word  in  which 
the  two  letters  i  j  occur  together  these  are 
amalgamated  into  y. 

to  triumph,  or  win,  seen  in  Winburg. 

Ridge  of  the  white  waters. 

:  Rhinoceros,  a  word  often  used  in  the  names  of 
farms. 


APPENDIX  VII. 

THE    PRESIDENTS'  TELEGRAM  PROPOSING  PEACE  AND 
LORD  SALISBURY'S  REPLY. 

No.  I. 

The  Presidents  of  the  Orange  Free  State  and  of  the  South  African 
Republic  to  the  Marquess  of  Salisbury. — {Received  March  6.) 

Bi,OEMFONTEiN,  March  5,  1900. 

The  blood  and  the  tears  of  the  thousands  who  have  suffered  by 
this  war,  and  the  prospect  of  all  the  moral  and  economic  ruin  with 
which  South  Africa  is  now  threatened,  make  it  necessary  for  both 
belligerents  to  ask  themselves,  dispassionately,  and  as  in  the  sight 
of  the  Triune  God,  for  what  they  are  fighting,  and  whether  the  aim 
of  each  justifies  all  this  appalling  misery  and  devastation. 

With  this  object,  and  in  view  of  the  assertions  of  various  British 
statesmen  to  the  effect  that  this  war  was  begun  and  is  being  carried 
on  with  the  set  purpose  of  undermining  her  Majesty's  authority  in 
South  Africa,  and  of  setting  up  an  Administration  over  all  South 
Africa,  independent  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  we  consider  it 
our  duty  solemnly  to  declare  that  this  war  was  undertaken  solely  as 
a  defensive  measure  to  safeguard  the  threatened  independence  of 
the  South  African  Republic,  and  is  only  continued  in  order  to  secure 
and  safeguard  the  incontestable  independence  of  both  Republics  as 
sovereign  international  States,  and  to  obtain  the  assurance  that 
those  of  her  Majestj^'s  subjects  who  have  taken  part  with  us  in  this 
war  shall  suffer  no  harm  whatsoever  in  person  or  property. 

On  these  conditions,  but  on  these  conditions  alone,  are  we  now, 
as  in  the  past,  desirous  of  seeing  peace  re-established  in  South 
Africa,  and  of  putting  an  end  to  the  evils  now  reigning  over  South 
Africa  ;  while,  if  her  Majesty's  Government  is  determined  to  destroy 
the  independence  of  the  Republics,  there  is  nothing  left  to  us  and 
to  our  people  but  to  persevere  to  the  end  in  the  course  already 
begun,  in  spite  of  the  overwhelming  pre-eminence  of  the  British 
Empire,  confident  that  that  God  who  lighted  the  unextinguishable 

293 


294 


APPENDICES 


fire  of  the  love  of  freedom  in  the  hearts  of  ourselves  and  of  our 
fathers  will  not  forsake  us,  but  will  accomplish  His  work  in  us  and 
in  our  descendants. 

We  hesitated  to  make  this  declaration  earlier  to  your  Excellency, 
as  we  feared  that  as  long  as  the  advantage  was  always  on  our  side, 
and  as  long  as  our  forces  held  defensive  positions  far  in  her 
Majesty's  Colonies,  such  a  declaration  might  hurt  the  feelings  of 
honour  of  the  British  people  ;  but  now  that  the  prestige  of  the 
British  Empire  may  be  considered  to  be  assured  by  the  capture  of 
one  of  our  forces  by  her  Majesty's  troops,  and  that  we  are  thereby 
forced  to  evacuate  other  positions  which  our  forces  had  occupied, 
that  difficulty  is  over,  and  we  can  no  longer  hesitate  clearly  to  in- 
form your  Government  and  people  in  the  sight  of  the  whole  ci\dl- 
ised  world  why  we  are  fighting,  and  on  what  conditions  we  are 
ready  to  restore  peace. 

No.   2. 
The  Marquess  of  Salisbury  to  the  Presidents  of  the  South  African 
Republic  and  Orange  Free  State. 

Foreign  Office,  March  ii,  1900. 

I  have  the  honour  to  acknowledge  your  Honours'  telegram  dated 
the  5th  of  March  from  Bloemfontein,  of  which  the  purport  is  prin- 
cipally to  demand  that  her  Majesty's  Government  shall  recognise 
the  "  incontestable  independence  "  of  the  South  African  Repubhc 
and  Orange  Free  State  "  as  sovereign  international  States,"  and  to 
offer,  on  those  terms,  to  bring  the  war  to  a  conclusion. 

In  the  beginning  of  October  last  peace  existed  between  her 
Majesty  and  the  two  Republics  under  the  Conventions  which  then 
were  in  existence.  A  discussion  had  been  proceeding  for  some 
months  between  her  Majesty's  Government  and  the  South  African 
Republic,  of  which  the  object  was  to  obtain  redress  for  certain  very 
serious  grievances  under  which  British  residents  in  the  South 
African  Republic  were  suffering.  In  the  course  of  those  negotia- 
tions, the  South  African  Republic  had,  to  the  knowledge  of  her 
Majesty's  Government,  made  considerable  armaments,  and  the 
latter  had,  consequently,  taken  steps  to  provide  corresponding 
reinforcements  to  the  British  garrisons  of  Capetown  and  Natal. 
No  infringements  of  the  rights  guaranteed  by  the  Conventions  had, 
up  to  that  point,  taken  place  on  the  British  side. 

Suddenly,  at  two  days'  notice,  the  South  African  Republic,  after 


APPENDICES  295 

issuing  an  insulting  ultimatum,  declared  war  upon  her  Majesty  ; 
and  the  Orange  Free  State,  with  whom  there  had  not  even  been 
any  discussion,  took  a  similar  step.  Her  Majesty's  dominions  were 
immediately  invaded  by  the  two  Republics,  siege  was  laid  to  three 
towns  within  the  British  frontier,  a  large  portion  of  the  two 
Colonies  was  overrun,  with  great  destruction  to  property  and  life- 
and  the  Republics  claimed  to  treat  the  inhabitants  of  extensive  por- 
tions of  her  Majesty's  dominions  as  if  those  dominions  had  been 
annexed  to  one  or  other  of  them.  In  anticipation  of  these  opera- 
tions the  South  African  Republic  had  been  accumulating  for  many 
years  past  military  stores  on  an  enormous  scale,  which,  by  their 
character,  could  only  have  been  intended  for  use  against  Great 
Britain. 

Your  Honours  make  some  observations  of  a  negative  character 
upon  the  object  with  which  these  preparations  were  made.  I  do 
not  think  it  necessary  to  discuss  the  questions  you  have  raised. 
But  the  result  of  these  preparations,  carried  on  with  great  secrecy, 
has  been  that  the  British  Empire  has  been  compelled  to  confront 
an  invasion  which  has  entailed  upon  the  Empire  a  costly  war  and 
the  loss  of  thousands  of  precious  lives.  This  great  calamity  has 
been  the  penalty  which  Great  Britain  has  suffered  for  ha\dng  in 
recent  years  acquiesced  in  the  existence  of  the  two  Republics. 

In  view  of  the  use  to  which  the  two  Republics  have  put  the  posi- 
tion which  was  given  to  them,  and  the  calamities  which  their  un- 
provoked attack  has  inflicted  upon  her  Majesty's  dominions,  her 
Majesty's  Government  can  only  answer  your  Honours'  telegram  by 
saying  that  they  are  not  prepared  to  assent  to  the  independence 
either  of  the  South  African  Republic  or  of  the  Orange  Free  State. 


APPENDIX  Vni. 

THE  TWO  CONVENTIONS. 

Convention  of  i88i. 

Her  Majesty's  Commissioners  for  the  settlement  of  the  Trans- 
vaal Territory  duly  appointed  as  such  by  a  Commission  passed 
under  the  Royal  Sign  Manual  and  Signet  bearing  date  the  5th  of 
April,  1881,  do  hereby  undertake  and  guarantee  on  behalf  of  Her 
Majesty  that  from  and  after  the  8th  day  of  August,  1881,  complete 
self-government,  subject  to  the  suzerainty  of  Her  IMajesty,  her 
heirs  and  successors,  will  be  accorded  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Transvaal  Territory,  upon  the  following  terms  and  conditions,  and 
subject  to  the  following  reservations  and  limitations  : — 

Article  i. — The  said  Territory,  to  be  hereinafter  called  the 
Transvaal  State,  will  embrace  the  land  lying  between  the  follow- 
ing boundaries,  to  wit  : 

{Here  follows  a  long  description  of  landmarks  ^  bou7idaries,  &c.) 

Article  2. — Her  Majesty  reserves  to  herself,  her  heirs  and 
successors  {a)  the  right  from  time  to  time  to  appoint  a  British 
Resident  in  and  for  the  said  State,  with  such  duties  and  functions 
as  are  hereinafter  defined  ;  (5)  the  right  to  move  troops  through  the 
said  State  in  time  of  war,  or  in  case  of  the  apprehension  of  im- 
mediate war,  between  the  Suzerain  Power  and  any  foreign  State 
or  native  tribe  in  South  Africa  ;  and  (c)  the  control  of  the  external 
relations  of  the  said  State,  including  the  conclusion  of  treaties  and 
the  conduct  of  diplomatic  intercourse  with  foreign  powers,  such 
intercourse  to  be  carried  on  through  Her  Majesty's  diplomatic  and 
consular  officers  abroad. 

Article  3. — Until  altered  by  the  Volksraad,  or  other  competent 

authority,  all  laws,  whether  passed  before  or  after  the  annexation 

of  the  Transvaal  to  Her  Majesty's  dominions,  shall,  except  in  so 

far  as  they  are  inconsistent  with  or  repugnant  to  the  provisions  of 

296 


APPENDICES  297 

this  Convention,  be  and  remain  in  force  in  the  said  State  in  so  far 
as  they  shall  be  applicable  thereto  :  Provided  that  no  further  en- 
actment specially  affecting  the  interests  of  natives  shall  have  any 
force  or  effect  in  the  said  State  without  the  consent  of  Her 
Majesty,  her  heirs  and  successors,  first  had  and  obtained  and  sig- 
nified to  the  Government  of  the  said  State  through  the  British 
Resident.  Provided  further  that  in  no  case  will  the  repeal  or 
amendment  of  any  laws  which  have  been  enacted  since  the  admin- 
istration have  a  retrospective  effect  so  as  to  invalidate  any  acts 
done  or  liabilities  incurred  by  virtue  of  such  laws. 

Article  4.— On  the  8th  day  of  August,  18S1,  the  Government 
of  the  said  State  together  with  all  rights  and  obligations  thereto 
appertaining,  and  all  the  State  property  taken  over  at  the  time  of 
annexation,  save  and  except  munitions  of  war  will  be  handed 
over  to 

Messrs.  Stephanus  Johannes  Paulus  Kriiger, 

Martinus  Wessel  Pretorius,  and 

Petrus  Jacobus  Joubert, 

or  the  survivor  or  survivors  of  them,  who  will  forthwith  cause  a 
Volksraad  to  be  elected  and  convened,  and  the  Volksraad  thus 
elected  and  convened  will  decide  as  to  the  further  administration 
of  the  Government  cf  the  said  State. 

Article  5. — All  sentences  passed  upon  persons  who  may  be  con- 
victed of  offences  contrary  to  the  rules  of  civilised  warfare,  com- 
mitted during  the  recent  hostilities,  will  be  duly  carried  out,  and 
no  alteration  or  mitigation  of  such  sentences  will  be  made  or 
allowed  by  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State  without  Her 
Majesty's  consent,  conveyed  through  the  British  Resident.  In 
case  there  shall  be  any  prisoners  in  any  of  the  gaols  of  the  Trans- 
vaal State  whose  respective  sentences  of  imprisonment  have  been 
remitted  in  part  by  Her  Majesty's  administrator  or  other  oflBcer 
administering  the  Government,  such  remission  will  be  recognised 
and  acted  upon  by  the  future  Government  of  the  said  State. 

Article  6. — Her  Majesty's  Government  will  make  due  compen- 
sation for  all  losses  or  damage  sustained  by  reason  of  such  acts  as 
are  in  the  Eighth  Article  hereinafter  specified  which  may  have 
been  committed  by  Her  Majesty's  forces  during  the  recent  hostili- 
ties, except  for  such  losses  or  damage  as  may  already  have  been 
compensated  for,  and  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State  will 


298  APPENDICES 

make  due  compensation  for  all  loss  or  damage  sustained  by  reason 
of  such  acts  as  are  in  the  Eighth  Article  hereinafter  specified, 
which  may  have  been  committed  by  the  people  who  were  in  arms 
against  Her  Majesty  during  the  recent  hostilities,  except  for  such 
losses  or  damage  as  may  already  have  been  compensated  for. 

Artici^K  7. — The  decision  of  all  claims  for  compensation,  as  in 
the  last  preceding  article  mentioned,  will  be  referred  to  a  Sub- 
Commission  consisting  of  the  Honourable  George  Hudson,  the 
Honourable  Jacobus  Petrus  de  Wet,  and  the  Honourable  John 
Gilbert  Kotze. 

In  case  one  or  more  of  such  Sub-Commissioners  shall  be  unable 
or  unwilling  to  act  the  remaining  Sub-Commissioner  or  Sub-Com- 
missioners will,  after  consultation  with  the  Government  of  the 
Transvaal  State,  submit  for  the  approval  of  Her  Majesty's  High 
Commissioner  the  names  of  one  or  more  persons  to  be  appointed 
by  him  to  fill  the  place  or  places  thus  vacated. 

The  decision  of  the  said  Sub-Commissioner  or  a  majority  of 
them  will  be  final. 

The  said  Sub-Commissioners  will  enter  upon  and  perform 
their  duties  with  all  convenient  speed.  They  will  before  taking 
evidence  or  ordering  evidence  to  be  taken  in  respect  of  any  claim 
decide  whether  any  such  claim  can  be  entertained  at  all  under  the 
rules  contained  in  the  next  succeeding  article.  In  regard  to  claims 
which  can  be  so  entertained  the  Sub-Commissioners  will  in  the  first 
instance  afford  every  facility  for  an  amicable  arrangement  as  to  the 
amount  payable  in  respect  to  any  claim,  and  only  in  cases  in  which 
there  is  no  reasonable  ground  for  believing  that  an  immediate 
amicable  arrangement  can  be  arrived  at  will  they  take  evidence  or 
order  evidence  to  be  taken. 

For  the  purpose  of  taking  evidence  and  reporting  thereon  the 
Sub-Commissioners  may  appoint  deputies  who  will  without  delay 
submit  records  of  the  evidence  and  their  reports  to  the  Sub-Com- 
missioners. The  Sub-Commissioners  will  arrange  their  sittings  and 
the  sittings  of  their  deputies  in  such  a  manner  as  to  afford  the 
greatest  convenience  to  the  parties  concerned  and  their  witnesses. 
In  no  case  will  costs  be  allowed  to  either  side  other  than  the 
actual  and  reasonable  expenses  of  witnesses  whose  evidence  is 
certified  by  the  Sub-Commissioners  to  have  been  necessary.  In- 
terest will  not  run  on  the  amount  of  any  claim  except  as  herein- 
after provided  for. 


APPENDICES  299 

The  said  Sub-Commissioners  will  forthwith  after  deciding  upon 
any  claim  announce  their  decision  to  the  Government  against 
which  the  award  is  made  and  to  the  claimant. 

The  amount  of  remuneration  payable  to  the  Sub-Commissioners 
and  their  deputies  will  be  determined  by  the  High  Commissioner 
after  all  the  claims  have  been  decided  upon.  The  British  Govern- 
ment and  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State  will  pay  propor- 
tionate shares  of  such  remuneration  and  of  the  expenses  of  the 
Sub-Commissioners  and  their  deputies  according  to  the  amounts 
awarded  against  them  respectively. 

Article  8. — For  the  purpose  of  distinguishing  claims  to  be 
accepted  from  those  to  be  rejected  the  Sub-Commissioners  will  be 
guided  by  the  following  rules,  viz.  :  Compensation  will  be  allowed 
for  losses  or  damage  sustained  by  reason  of  the  following  acts 
committed  during  the  recent  hostilities,  viz.  :  (a)  Commandeer- 
ing, seizure,  confiscation,  or  destruction  of  property  or  damage 
done  to  property  ;  {d)  violence  done  or  threats  used  by  persons 
in  arms. 

In  regard  to  acts  under  (a)  compensation  will  be  allowed  for 
direct  losses  only. 

In  regard  to  acts  falling  under  (d)  compensation  will  be  allowed 
for  actual  losses  of  property  or  actual  injury  to  the  same,  proved 
to  have  been  caused  by  its  enforced  abandonment. 

No  claims  for  indirect  losses,  except  such  as  are  in  this  article 
specially  provided  for,  will  be  entertained. 

No  claims  which  have  been  handed  in  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Royal  Commission  after  the  first  day  of  July,  1881,  will  be  enter- 
tained unless  the  Sub-Commissioner  shall  be  satisfied  that  the 
delay  was  reasonable. 

When  claims  for  loss  of  property  are  considered  the  Sub-Com- 
missioners will  require  distinct  proof  of  the  existence  of  the 
property  and  that  it  neither  has  reverted  nor  will  revert  to  the 
claimant. 

ArTicIvE  9. — The  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State  vnll  pay 
and  satisfy  the  amount  of  every  claim  awarded  against  it  within 
one  month  after  the  Sub-Commissioners  shall  have  notified  their 
decision  to  the  said  Government,  and  in  default  of  such  payment 
the  said  Government  will  pay  interest  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent, 
per  annimi  from  the  date  of  such  default  ;  but  Her  Majesty's 
Government  may   at   any   time    before   such    payment    pay   the 


300  APPENDICES  i 

amount  with  interest,  if  any,  to  the  claimant  in  satisfaction  of  his 
claim,  and  may  add  the  sum  thus  paid  to  any  debt  which  may  be 
due  by  the  Transvaal  State  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  as 
hereinafter  provided  for. 

Article  io.— The  Transvaal  State  will  be  liable  for  the  balance 
of  the  debts  for  which  the  South  African  Republic  was  liable  at 
the  date  of  annexation,  to  wit  :  the  sum  of  ^48,000  in  respect  of 
the  Cape  Commercial  Bank  Loan  and  ;^85,667  in  respect  of  the 
railway  loan,  together  with  the  amount  due  on  the  8th  of  August, 
1881,  on  account  of  the  Orphan  Chamber  debt,  which  now  stands 
at  ^27,226  15s.,  which  debts  will  be  a  first  charge  upon  the 
revenues  of  the  State.  The  Transvaal  State  will,  moreover,  be 
liable  for  the  lawful  expenditure  lawfully  incurred  for  the  neces- 
sary expenses  of  the  province  since  annexation,  to  wit  :  the 
sum  of  ^265,000,  which  debt,  together  with  such  debts  as  may 
be  incurred  by  virtue  of  the  Ninth  Article,  will  be  a  second  charge 
upon  the  revenues  of  the  State, 

Article  ii. — The  debts  due  as  aforesaid  by  the  Transvaal  State 
to  Her  Majesty's  Government  will  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of  2>/4 
per  cent.  ;  and  any  portion  of  such  debt  as  may  remain  unpaid  on 
the  8th  of  August,  1882,  shall  be  repayable  by  a  payment  for  in- 
terest and  sinking  fund  of  £6  os.  9d.  per  ^100  per  annum,  which 
will  extinguish  the  debt  in  twenty -five  years.  The  said  payment 
of  j^S  OS.  9d.  per  ;^ioo  shall  be  payable  half-yearly  in  British  cur- 
rency on  the  8th  of  February  and  the  8th  of  August  in  each  year. 
Provided  always  that  the  Transvaal  State  shall  pay  in  reduction  of 
the  said  debt  the  sum  of  ;^ioo,ooo  before  the  8th  of  August,  1882, 
and  shall  be  at  liberty  at  the  close  of  any  half-year  to  pay  off  the 
whole  or  any  portion  of  the  outstanding  debt. 

Article  12. — All  persons  holding  property  in  the  said  State  on 
the  8th  day  of  August,  1881,  will  continue  to  enjoy  the  rights  of 
property  which  they  have  enjoyed  since  the  annexation.  No 
person  who  has  remained  loyal  to  Her  Majesty  during  the  recent 
hostilities  shall  suffer  any  molestation  by  reason  of  his  loyalty  or 
be  liable  to  any  criminal  prosecution  or  civil  action  for  any  part 
taken  in  connection  vnth  such  hostilities,  and  all  such  persons 
will  have  full  liberty  to  reside  in  the  country  with  enjoyment  of 
all  civil  rights  and  protection  for  their  persons  and  property. 

Article  13. — Natives  will  be  allowed  to  acquire  land,  but  the 
grant  or  transfer  of  such  land  will  in  every  case  be  made  to  and 


APPENDICES  301 

registered  in  the  name  of  the  Native  Location  Commission  herein- 
after mentioned  in  trust  for  such  natives. 

Article  14. — Natives  will  be  allowed  to  move  as  freely  within 
the  country  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  requirements  of  public 
order,  and  to  leave  it  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  employment  else- 
where or  for  other  lawful  purposes,  subject  always  to  the  Pass 
Laws  of  the  said  State,  as  amended  by  the  Legislature  of  the 
province,  or  as  may  hereafter  be  enacted  under  the  provisions  of 
the  Third  Article  of  this  Convention , 

ArticIvE  15.— The  provisions  of  the  Fourth  Article  of  the  Sand 
River  Convention  are  hereby  reaflSrmed,  and  no  slavery  or  ap- 
prenticeship partaking  of  slavery  will  be  tolerated  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  said  State. 

ART1CI.E  16. — There  will  continue  to  be  complete  freedom  of 
religion  and  protection  from  molestation  for  all  denominations, 
provided  the  same  be  not  inconsistent  with  morality  and  good 
order  ;  and  no  disability  shall  attach  to  any  person  in  regard  to 
rights  of  property  by  reason  of  the  religious  opinions  which  he 
holds. 

Artici^E  17. — The  British  Resident  will  receive  from  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Transvaal  State  such  assistance  and  support  as  can 
by  law  be  given  for  the  due  discharge  of  his  functions.  He  will 
also  receive  every  assistance  for  the  proper  care  and  preserv^ation 
of  the  graves  of  such  of  Her  Majesty's  Forces  as  have  died  in  the 
Transvaal,  and  if  need  be,  for  the  expropriation  of  land  for  the 
purpose. 

Article  18. — The  following  will  be  the  duties  and  functions  of 
the  British  Resident  : — 

1.  He  will  perform  duties  and  functions  analogous  to  those  dis- 
charged by  a  Charge  d' Affauxs  and  Consul-General. 

2.  In  regard  to  the  natives  within  the  Transvaal  State  he  will 
{a)  report  to  the  High  Commissioner,  as  representative  of  the 
Suzerain,  as  to  the  working  and  observ^ance  of  the  provisions  of 
this  Convention  ;  {b)  report  to  the  Transvaal  authorities  any  cases 
of  ill-treatment  of  natives,  or  attempts  to  incite  natives  to  re- 
bellion, that  may  come  to  his  knowledge  ;  {c)  use  his  influence 
with  the  natives  in  favour  of  law  and  order  ;  and  {d)  generally 
perform  such  other  duties  as  are  by  this  Convention  entrusted  to 
him,  and  take  such  steps  for  the  protection  of  persons  and  prop- 
erty of  natives  as  are  consistent  with  the  law  of  the  land. 


302  APPENDICES 

3.  In  regard  to  natives  not  residing  in  the  Transvaal  (a)  he  will 
report  to  the  High  Commissioner  and  the  Transvaal  Government 
any  encroachments  reported  to  him  as  having  been  made  by- 
Transvaal  residents  upon  the  land  of  any  such  natives,  and  in 
case  of  disagreement  between  the  Transvaal  Government  and  the 
British  Resident  as  to  whether  an  encroachment  has  been  made, 
the  decision  of  the  Suzerain  will  be  final  ;  (d)  the  British  Resi- 
dent will  be  the  medium  of  communication  with  native  chiefs 
outside  the  Transvaal,  and,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  High 
Commissioner  as  representing  the  Suzerain,  he  will  control  the 
conclusion  of  treaties  w4th  them  ;  and  ( c)  he  will  arbitrate  upon 
every  dispute  between  the  Transvaal  residents  and  natives  out- 
side the  Transvaal  (as  to  acts  committed  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  the  Transvaal)  which  may  be  referred  to  him  by  the  parties 
interested. 

4.  In  regard  to  communication  with  foreign  Powers  the 
Transvaal  Government  will  correspond  with  Her  Majesty's 
Government  through  the  British  Resident  and  the  High  Com- 
missioner. 

ArTici^B  19. — The  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State  will 
strictly  adhere  to  the  boundaries  defined  in  the  first  Article  of 
this  Convention,  and  will  do  its  utmost  to  prevent  any  of  its 
inhabitants  from  making  any  encroachment  upon  lands  beyond 
the  said  State.  The  Royal  Commission  will  forthwith  appoint  a 
person  who  will  beacon  off  the  boundary  line  between  Ramat- 
labama  and  the  point  where  such  line  first  touches  the  Griqua- 
land  West  boundary,  midway  between  the  Vaal  and  Hart  Rivers. 
The  person  so  appointed  will  be  instructed  to  make  an  arrange- 
ment between  the  owners  of  the  farms  ' '  Grootfontein  ' '  and 
"  Valleifontein,"  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Barolong  authorities 
on  the  other,  by  which  a  fair  share  of  the  water  supply  of  the 
said  farms  shall  be  allowed  to  flow  undisturbed  to  the  said 
Barolongs. 

ArticIvE  20. — All  grants  or  titles  issued  at  any  time  by  the 
Transvaal  Government  in  respect  of  land  outside  the  boundary  of 
the  Transvaal  State,  as  defined  in  Article  i,  shall  be  considered 
invalid  and  of  no  effect  except  in  so  far  as  any  such  grant  or 
title  relates  to  land  that  falls  within  the  boundary  of  the  Trans- 
vaal State  ;  and  all  persons  holding  any  such  grant  so  considered 
invalid  and  of  no  effect,   will  receive  from  the  Government   of 


APPENDICES  303 

the  Transvaal  State  such  compensation  either  in  land  or  in 
money  as  the  Volksraad  shall  determine.  In  all  cases  in  which 
any  native  chiefs  or  other  authorities  outside  the  said  boundaries 
have  received  any  adequate  consideration  from  the  Government 
of  the  former  South  African  Republic,  for  land  excluded  from  the 
Transvaal  by  the  first  Article  of  this  Convention,  or  where  perma- 
nent improvements  have  been  made  on  the  land,  the  British 
Resident  will,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  High  Commissioner, 
use  his  influence  to  recover  from  the  native  authorities  fair  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  of  the  land  thus  excluded  or  of  the  perma- 
nent improvements  thereon. 

Article  21. — Forthwith  after  the  taking  effect  of  this  Con- 
vention, a  Native  lyocation  Commission  will  be  constituted, 
consisting  of  the  President  (or  in  his  absence  the  Vice-President) 
of  the  State,  or  some  one  deputed  by  him,  the  Resident,  or  some 
one  deputed  by  him,  and  a  third  person  to  be  agreed  upon  by  the 
President  (or  Vice-President  as  the  case  may  be)  and  the  Resi- 
dent ;  and  such  Commission  will  be  a  standing  body  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  duties  hereinafter  mentioned. 

Artici^e;  22. — The  Native  Location  Commission  will  reserve  to 
the  native  tribes  of  the  State  such  locations  as  they  may  be  fairly 
and  equitably  entitled  to,  due  regard  being  had  to  the  actual 
occupation  of  such  tribes.  The  Native  Location  Commission  will 
clearly  define  the  boundaries  of  such  locations,  and  for  that  pur- 
pose will  in  every  instance  first  of  all  ascertain  the  wishes  of  the 
parties  interested  in  such  land.  In  case  land  already  granted  in 
individual  titles  shall  be  required  for  the  purpose  of  any  location 
the  owners  will  receive  such  compensation  either  in  other  land  or 
in  money  as  the  Volksraad  shall  determine.  After  the  boundaries 
of  any  location  have  been  fixed,  no  fresh  grant  of  land  within 
vsuch  location  will  be  made  nor  vAW  the  boundaries  be  altered 
without  the  consent  of  the  Location  Commission.  No  fresh  grants 
of  land  will  be  made  in  the  districts  of  Waterberg,  Zoutpansberg, 
and  Lydenburg  until  the  locations  in  the  said  districts  respectively 
shall  have  been  defined  by  the  said  Commission. 

Article  23. — If  not  released  before  the  taking  effect  of  this 
Convention,  Sikukuni  and  those  of  his  followers  who  have  been 
imprisoned  with  him  will  be  forthwith  released,  and  the  bound- 
aries of  his  location  will  be  defined  by  the  Native  Location 
Commission  in  the  same  manner  indicated  in  the  last  preceding 
Article. 


304  APPENDICES 

ArTici^E  24. — The  independence  of  the  Swazis  within  the 
boundary  line  of  Swaziland  as  indicated  in  the  first  Article  of  this 
Convention  will  be  fully  recognised. 

ArticIvE  25. — No  other  or  higher  duties  will  be  imposed  on  the 
importation  into  the  Transvaal  State  of  any  article  the  produce  or 
manufacture  of  the  dominions  and  possessions  of  Her  Majesty, 
from  whatever  place  arriving,  than  are  or  may  be  payable  on  the 
like  article,  the  produce  or  manufacture  of  any  other  country, 
nor  will  any  prohibition  be  maintained  or  imposed  on  the  impor- 
tation of  any  article  of  produce  or  manufacture  of  the  dominions 
and  possessions  of  Her  Majesty,  which  shall  not  equally  extend 
to  the  importation  of  the  like  articles  being  the  produce  or 
manufacture  of  any  other  country. 

Artici^E  26. — All  persons,  other  than  natives,  conforming  to 
the  laws  of  the  Transvaal  State,  (a)  ^411  have  full  liberty,  with 
their  families,  to  enter,  travel,  or  reside  in  any  part  of  the  Trans- 
vaal State  ;  (d)  they  will  be  entitled  to  hire  or  possess  houses, 
manufactories,  warehouses,  shops,  and  premises  ;  (c)  they  may 
carry  on  their  commerce  either  in  person  or  by  any  agents 
whom  they  may  think  fit  to  employ  ;  {d)  they  will  not  be  subject 
in  respect  to  their  persons  or  property,  or  in  respect  of  their 
commerce  or  industry,  to  any  taxes  whether  general  or  local  other 
than  those  which  are  or  may  be  imposed  on  Transvaal  citizens. 

Artici<E  27. — All  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal  shall  have  free 
access  to  the  Courts  of  Justice  for  the  prosecution  and  defence  of 
their  rights. 

Article  28. — All  persons,  other  than  natives,  who  established 
their  domicile  in  the  Transvaal  between  the  12th  day  of  April, 
1877,  and  the  date  when  this  Convention  comes  into  effect,  and 
who  shall  within  twelve  months  after  such  last-mentioned  date 
have  their  names  registered  b}-  the  British  Resident,  shall  be  ex- 
empt from  all  compulsory  military'  service  whatever.  The  Resident 
shall  notify  such  registration  to  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal 
State. 

Article  29. — Provision  shall  hereafter  be  made  by  a  separate 
instrument  for  the  mutual  extradition  of  criminals,  and  also  for 
the  surrender  of  deserters  from  Her  Majesty's  forces. 

Article  30. — All  debts  contracted  since  the  annexation  will  be 
payable  in  the  same  ciirrency  in  which  they  may  have  been  con- 
tracted.    All  uncancelled  postage  and  other  revenue  stamps  issued 


APPENDICES  305 

by  the  Government  since  the  annexation  will  remain  valid,  and 
will  be  accepted  at  their  present  value  by  the  future  Government 
of  the  State.  All  licences  duly  issued  since  the  annexation  will 
remain  in  force  for  the  period  for  which  they  may  have  been  issued. 

Article  31. — No  grants  of  land  which  may  have  been  made, 
and  no  transfers  or  mortgages  which  may  have  been  passed  since 
the  day  of  annexation,  will  be  invalidated  by  reason  merely  of 
their  ha\nng  been  made  or  passed  after  such  date.  All  transfers  to 
the  British  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  in  trust  for  natives  will 
remain  in  force,  the  Native  Location  Commission  taking  the  place 
of  such  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs. 

Artici^E  32. — This  Convention  will  be  ratified  by  a  newly  elected 
Volksraad  ^^nthin  the  period  of  three  months  after  its  execution, 
and  in  default  of  such  ratification  this  Convention  shall  be  null 
and  void. 

ArticIvE  33. — Forthwith  after  the  ratification  of  this  Convention, 
as  in  the  last  preceding  article  mentioned,  all  British  troops  in 
Transvaal  territory  will  leave  the  same,  and  the  mutual  delivery 
of  munitions  of  war  will  be  carried  out. 

Signed  at  Pretoria  this  third  day  of  August,  1S81. 

Hercui^es  Robinson,  President  and  High 

Co  mm  iss  io  n  er. 
Evelyn    Wood,    Major-General,    Officer 

Administering  the  Govertiment. 
^  J.  H.  DE  VlLLIERS. 

We,  the  undersigned,  Stephanus  Johannes  Paulus  Kriiger, 
Martinus  Wessel  Pretorius,  and  Petrus  Jacobus  Joubert,  as  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Transvaal  burghers,  do  hereby  agree  to  all  the 
above  conditions,  reservations,  and  limitations  under  which  self- 
government  has  been  restored  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal 
territory,  subject  to  the  suzerainty  of  Her  Majesty,  her  heirs  and 
successors,  and  we  agree  to  accept  the  Government  of  the  said  ter- 
ritory, with  all  the  rights  and  obligations  thereto  appertaining,  on 
the  8th  day  of  August,  1881,  and  we  promise  and  undertake  that 
this  Convention  shall  be  ratified  by  a  newly  elected  Volksraad  of 
the  Transvaal  State  wnthin  three  months  from  this  date. 
Signed  at  Pretoria  this  3rd  day  of  August,  1881. 

S.  J.  P.  Kruger, 
M.  W.  Pretorius, 
P.  J.  Joubert. 
so 


Royal  Commissioners, 


3o6  APPENDICES 


Convention  of  iJ 


Whereas  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State,  through  its 
Delegates,  consisting  of  Stephanus  Johannes  Paulus  Kriiger, 
President  of  the  said  State,  Stephanus  Jacobus  Du  Toit,  Superin- 
tendent of  Education,  and  Nicholas  Jacobus  Smit,  a  member  of 
the  Volksraad,  have  represented  that  the  Convention  signed  at 
Pretoria  on  the  3rd  day  of  August,  1881,  and  ratified  by  the  Volks- 
raad of  the  said  State  on  the  25th  October,  1881,  contains  certain 
provisions  which  are  inconvenient,  and  imposes  burdens  and 
obligations  from  which  the  said  State  is  desirous  to  be  relieved, 
and  that  the  south-western  boundaries  fixed  by  the  said  Conven- 
tion should  be  amended,  with  a  view  to  promote  the  peace  and 
good  order  of  the  said  State,  and  of  the  countries  adjacent  thereto  ; 
and  whereas  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  has  been  pleased  to  take  the  said  repre- 
sentations into  consideration  :  Now,  therefore.  Her  Majesty  has 
been  pleased  to  direct,  and  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  the  following 
articles  of  a  new  Convention,  signed  on  behalf  of  Her  Majesty  by 
Her  Majest3^'s  High  Commissioner  in  South  Africa,  the  Right 
Honourable  Sir  Hercules  George  Robert  Robinson,  Knight  Grand 
Cross  of  the  Most  Distinguished  Order  of  Saint  Michael  and  Saint 
George,  Governor  of  the  Colony  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
on  behalf  of  the  Transvaal  State  (which  shall  hereinafter  be  called 
the  South  African  Republic)  by  the  above-named  Delegates, 
Stephanus  Johannes  Paulus  Kriiger,  Stephanus  Jacobus  Du  Toit, 
and  Nicholas  Jacobus  Smit,  shall,  when  ratified  by  the  Volksraad 
of  the  South  African  Republic,  be  substituted  for  the  articles  em- 
bodied in  the  Convention  of  3rd  August,  1S81  ;  which  latter,  pend- 
ing such  ratification,  shall  continue  in  full  force  and  effect. 

ArTicIvE  2. — The  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  will 
strictly  adhere  to  the  boundaries  defined  in  the  first  Article  of  this 
Convention,  and  will  do  its  utmost  to  prevent  any  of  its  inhabitants 
from  making  any  encroachments  upon  lands  beyond  the  said 
boundaries.  The  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  \n\l 
appoint  Commissioners  upon  the  eastern  and  western  borders 
whose  duty  it  will  be  strictly  to  guard  against  irregularities  and  all 
trespassing  over  the  boundaries.  Her  Majesty's  Government  will, 
if  necessary,  appoint  Commissioners  in  the  native  territories  out- 


APPENDICES  307 

side  the  eastern  and  western  borders  of  the  South  African  Republic 
to  maintain  order  and  prevent  encroachment. 

Her  Majesty's  Government  and  the  Government  of  the  South 
African  Republic  will  each  appoint  a  person  to  proceed  together  to 
beacon  off  the  amended  south-west  boundary  as  described  in  Article 
I  of  this  Convention  ;  and  the  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State 
shall  be  requested  to  appoint  a  referee,  to  whom  the  said  persons 
shall  refer  any  questions  on  which  they  may  disagree  respecting 
the  interpretation  of  the  said  Article,  and  the  decision  of  such 
referee  thereon  shall  be  final.  The  arrangement  already  made, 
under  the  terms  of  Article  19  of  the  Convention  of  Pretoria  of  the 
3rd  August,  1881,  between  the  owners  of  the  farms  Grootfontein 
and  Valleifontein  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Barolong  authorities 
on  the  other,  by  which  a  fair  share  of  the  water  supply  of  the  said 
farms  shall  be  allowed  to  flow  undisturbed  to  the  said  Barolongs, 
shall  continue  in  force. 

Article  3. — If  a  British  officer  is  appointed  to  reside  at  Pretoria 
or  elsewhere  within  the  South  African  Republic  to  discharge  func- 
tions analogous  to  those  of  a  Consular  officer  he  will  receive  the 
protection  and  assistance  of  the  Republic. 

Article  4. — The  South  African  Republic  will  conclude  no 
treaty  or  engagement  with  any  State  or  nation  other  than  the 
Orange  Free  State,  nor  with  any  native  tribe  to  the  eastward  or 
westward  of  the  Republic,  until  the  same  has  been  approved  by 
Her  Majesty  the  Queen. 

Such  approval  shall  be  considered  to  have  been  granted  if  Her 
Majesty's  Government  shall  not,  within  six  months  after  receiving 
a  copy  of  such  treaty  (which  shall  be  delivered  to  them  imme- 
diately upon  its  completion),  have  notified  that  the  conclusion  of 
such  treaty  is  in  conflict  with  the  interests  of  Great  Britain  or  of 
any  of  Her  Majesty's  possessions  in  vSouth  Africa. 

Article  5.— The  South  African  Republic  will  be  liable  for  any 
balance  which  may  still  remain  due  of  the  debts  for  which  it  was 
liable  at  the  date  of  annexation,  to  wit:  the  Cape  Commercial  Bank 
Loan,  the  Railway  Loan,  and  the  Orphan  Chamber  Debt,  which 
debts  will  be  a  first  charge  upon  the  revenues  of  the  Republic. 
The  South  African  Republic  will,  moreover,  be  liable  to  Her 
Majesty's  Government  for  ^250,000,  which  will  be  a  second  charge 
upon  the  revenues  of  the  Republic. 

Article  6. — The  debt  due  as  aforesaid  by  the  Soutli  African 


3o8  APPENDICES 

Republic  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  will  bear  interest  at  the 
rate  of  3^  per  cent.,  from  the  date  of  the  ratification  of  this  Con- 
vention, and  shall  be  repayable  by  a  payment  for  interest  and 
Sinking  Fund  of  £^  os.  9d,  per  ^100  per  annum,  which  will  ex- 
tinguish the  debt  in  twenty-five  years.  The  said  payment  of 
£^  OS.  9d.  per  ;!{^ioo  shall  be  payable  half-yearly,  in  British  cur- 
rency, at  the  close  of  each  half-year  from  the  date  of  such  ratifica- 
tion :  Provided  always  that  the  South  African  Republic  shall  be  at 
liberty  at  the  close  of  any  half-year  to  pay  off  the  whole  or  any 
portion  of  the  outstanding  debt. 

Interest  at  the  rate  of  3  ^  per  cent,  on  the  debt  standing  under 
the  Convention  of  Pretoria  shall  as  heretofore  be  paid  to  the  date 
of  the  ratification  of  this  Convention. 

Artici,E  7. — All  persons  who  held  property  in  the  Transvaal 
on  the  8th  day  of  August,  1881,  and  still  hold  the  same,  will  con- 
tinue to  enjoy  the  rights  of  property  which  they  have  enjoyed 
since  the  12th  April,  1877.  No  person  who  has  remained  loyal  to 
Her  Majesty  during  the  late  hostilities  shall  suffer  any  molestation 
by  reason  of  his  loyalty  ;  or  be  liable  to  any  criminal  prosecution 
or  ci\dl  action  for  any  part  taken  in  connection  with  such  hostili- 
ties ;  and  all  such  persons  will  have  full  liberty  to  reside  in  the 
country,  with  enjoyment  of  all  civil  rights,  and  protection  for  their 
persons  and  property. 

ART1CI.E  8. — The  South  African  Republic  renews  the  declaration 
made  in  the  Sand  River  Convention,  and  in  the  Convention  of 
Pretoria,  that  no  slavery  or  apprenticeship  partaking  of  slavery 
will  be  tolerated  by  the  Government  of  the  said  Republic. 

ARTICI.K  9. — There  will  continue  to  be  complete  freedom  of 
religion  and  protection  from  molestation  for  all  denominations, 
provided  the  same  be  not  inconsistent  with  morality  and  good 
order  ;  and  no  disability  shall  attach  to  any  person  in  regard  to 
rights  of  property  by  reason  of  the  religious  opinions  which  he 
holds. 

ARTIC1.E  10. — The  British  Officer  appointed  to  reside  in  the 
South  African  Republic  will  receive  every  assistance  from  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  said  Republic  in  making  due  provision  for  the 
proper  care  and  preservation  of  the  graves  of  such  of  Her  INIajesty's 
Forces  as  have  died  in  the  Transvaal  ;  and,  if  need  be,  for  the  ap- 
propriation of  land  for  the  purpose. 

ARTiciyK  II. — All  grants  or  titles  issued  at  any  time  by  the 


APPENDICES  309 

Transvaal  Government  in  respect  of  land  outside  the  boundary  of 
the  South  African  Republic,  as  defined  in  Article  i,  shall  be  consid- 
ered invalid  and  of  no  effect,  except  in  so  far  as  any  such  grant 
or  title  relates  to  land  that  falls  within  the  boundary  of  the  South 
African  Republic  ;  and  all  persons  holding  any  such  grant  so  con- 
sidered invalid  and  of  no  effect  will  receive  from  the  Government 
of  the  South  African  Republic  such  compensation,  either  in  land 
or  in  money,  as  the  Volksraad  shall  determine.  In  all  cases  in 
which  any  Native  Chiefs  or  other  authorities  outside  the  said 
boundaries  have  received  any  adequate  consideration  from  the 
Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  for  land  excluded  from 
the  Transvaal  by  the  first  Article  of  this  Convention,  or  where  per- 
manent improvements  have  been  made  on  the  land,  the  High  Com- 
missioner will  recover  from  the  native  authorities  fair  compensation 
for  the  loss  of  the  land  thus  excluded,  or  of  the  permanent  im- 
provements thereon. 

ArticIvE  12. — The  independence  of  the  Swazis,  within  the 
boundary  line  of  Swaziland,  as  indicated  in  the  first  Article  of  this 
Convention,  will  be  fully  recognised. 

ARTICI.E  13. — Except  in  pursuance  of  any  treaty  or  engagement 
made  as  provided  in  Article  4  of  this  Convention,  no  other  or 
higher  duties  shall  be  imposed  on  the  importation  into  the  South 
African  Republic  of  any  article  coming  from  any  part  of  Her 
Majesty's  dominions  than  are  or  may  be  imposed  on  the  like 
article  coming  from  any  other  place  or  country  ;  nor  will  any  pro- 
hibition be  maintained  or  imposed  on  the  importation  into  the 
South  African  Republic  of  any  article  coming  from  any  part  of 
Her  Majesty's  dominions  which  shall  not  equally  extend  to  the 
like  article  coming  from  any  other  place  or  country.  And  in  like 
manner  the  same  treatment  shall  be  given  to  any  article  coming 
to  Great  Britain  from  the  South  African  Republic  as  to  the  like 
article  coming  from  any  other  place  or  countrj'. 

These  provisions  do  not  preclude  the  consideration  of  special 
arrangements  as  to  import  duties  and  commercial  relations  between 
the  South  African  Republic  and  any  of  Her  Majesty's  colonies  or 
possessions. 

Article  14. — All  persons,  other  than  natives,  conforming  them- 
selves to  the  laws  of  the  South  African  Republic  {a)  will  have  full 
liberty,  with  their  families,  to  enter,  travel,  or  reside  in  any  part 
of  the  South  African  Republic  ;  (d)  they  wnll  be  entitled  to  hire  or 


3IO  APPENDICES 

possess  houses,  manufactories,  warehouses,  shops,  and  premises ; 
(c)  they  may  carry  on  their  commerce  either  in  person  or  by  any 
agents  whom  they  may  think  fit  to  employ  ;  {d)  they  will  not  be 
subject,  in  respect  of  their  persons  or  property,  or  in  respect  of 
their  commerce  or  industry,  to  any  taxes,  whether  general  or  local, 
other  than  those  which  are  or  may  be  imposed  upon  citizens  of  the 
said  Republic. 

ARTICI.E  15. — All  persons,  other  than  natives,  who  established 
their  domicile  in  the  Transvaal  between  the  12th  day  of  April, 
1S77,  and  the  8th  August,  1881,  and  who  within  twelve  months 
after  such  last-mentioned  date  have  had  their  names  registered  by 
the  British  Resident,  shall  be  exempt  from  all  compulsory  military 
service  whatever. 

ArticIvE  16. — Provision  shall  hereafter  be  made  by  a  separate 
instrument  for  the  mutual  extradition  of  criminals,  and  also  for 
the  surrender  of  deserters  from  Her  Majesty's  Forces. 

Artici^E  17. — All  debts  contracted  between  the  12th  April,  1877, 
and  the  8th  August,  188 1,  will  be  payable  in  the  same  currency 
in  which  they  may  have  been  contracted. 

ArticIvE  18. — No  grants  of  land  which  may  have  been  made, 
and  no  transfers  or  mortgages  which  may  have  been  passed 
between  the  12th  April,  1877,  and  the  8th  August,  1881,  will  be 
invalidated  by  reason  merely  of  their  having  been  made  or  passed 
between  such  dates. 

All  transfers  to  the  British  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  in  trust 
for  natives  will  remain  in  force,  an  officer  of  the  South  African 
Republic  taking  the  place  of  such  Secretary  for  the  Native 
Affairs. 

ArTicIvE  19. — The  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic 
will  engage  faithfully  to  fulfil  the  assurances  given,  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  the  South  African  Republic,  to  the  natives  at  the 
Pretoria  Pitso  by  the  Royal  Commission  in  the  presence  of  the 
Triumvirate,  and  with  their  entire  assent  (i)  as  to  the  freedom  of 
the  natives  to  buy  or  otherwise  acquire  land  under  certain  con- 
ditions ;  (2)  as  to  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  mark  out 
native  locations  ;  (3)  as  to  the  access  of  the  natives  to  the  courts 
of  law  ;  and  (4)  as  to  their  being  allowed  to  move  freely  within 
the  country,  or  to  leave  it  for  any  legal  purpose,  under  a  pass 
system. 

ArTici^E  20. — This  Convention  will  be  ratified  by  a  Volksraad 


APPENDICES  3" 

of  the  South  African  Republic  within  the  period  of  six  months 
after  its  execution,  and  in  default  of  such  ratification  this  Conven- 
tion shall  be  null  and  void. 

Signed  in  duplicate  in  London  this  27th  day  of    February,  1884. 

(Signed)  HERCULES    ROBINSON. 

(Signed)  S.  J.  P.  KRUGER. 

(Signed)  S.  J.  DU  TOIT. 

(Signed)  M.  J.  SMIT. 


APPENDIX  IX. 

LORD  METHUEN'S  REPORT  ON  THE  BATTl^E  OF 
MAAGHERSFONTEIN. 

'The  following  summary  of  Ivord  Methuen's  despatch,  from  the 
pages  of  the  Daily  Telegraph  of  March  17th,  should  be  read  in 
connection  with  the  Chapter  on  the  Battle  of  Maaghersfontein  : — 

In  a  despatch  dated  February  15th,  Lord  Methuen  describes  the 
action  of  Maaghersfontein,  or  Majesfontein.  He  explains  that  the 
enemy  had  intrenched  a  very  strong  position  running  north-west, 
and  including  a  three-mile  long  kopje  on  the  north. 

"  So  long  as  this  kopje,  named  Majesfontein,  remained  in  posses- 
sion of  the  enemy,  I  did  not  feel  justified  with  my  small  force  in 
marching  up  the  Modder  River,  for  my  line  of  communication 
would  have  been  in  danger,  and  my  transport  could  only  carry 
five  days'  provisions.  Had  I  marched  round  by  Jacobsdal  to 
Brown's  Drift,  I  should  have  had  to  fight  my  way  across  the  river 
in  the  face  of  a  mobile  force  consisting  of  16,000  men." 

Lord  Methuen  hoped  to  crush  the  enemy  at  one  blow  by  attack- 
ing the  Maaghersfontein  Kopje,  and  for  two  hours  on  December 
loth  the  kopje  was  bombarded  with  all  the  guns,  including  the 
naval  4*7  inch.  The  General  describes  in  detail  his  anticipation 
that  great  destruction  would  be  done,  especially  by  lyddite,  and 
ordered  the  Highland  Brigade,  supported  by  all  the  guns,  and 
with  their  right  and  rear  protected  by  the  Guards'  Brigade,  to 
assault  the  southern  end  of  the  kopje,  consisting  of  a  high  hill, 
after  midnight  the  following  morning.  The  first  misfortune  was 
the  accidental  discharge  of  two  rifles  and  the  flashes  from  a  lan- 
tern, "  which  gave  the  enemy  pretty  timely  notice  of  the  march." 
General  Wauchope  arranged  all  the  details  of  the  advance. 
•'  The  brigade  M^as  to  march  in  mass  of  quarter  columns,  the  four 
battalions  keeping  touch,  and  if  necessary  ropes  were  to  be  used 
312 


APPENDICES  313 

for  the  left  guides  ;  these  ropes  were  taken,  but  I  believe, "  adds 
I/ord  Methuen,  "used  by  only  two  battalions.  The  three  battal- 
ions were  to  extend  just  before  daybreak,  two  companies  in  firing- 
line,  two  companies  in  support,  and  four  companies  in  reserve,  all 
at  five  paces'  interval  between  them."  Lord  Methuen  then  gives 
an  account  of  what  actually  happened — a  tale  infinitely  sad. 

Not  finding  any  signs  of  the  enemy  on  the  right  flank  just  before 
daybreak,  which  took  place  at  4  a.m.,  as  the  brigade  was  approach- 
ing the  foot  of  the  kopje,  Major-General  Wauchope  gave  the  order 
for  the  Black  Watch  to  extend,  but  to  direct  its  advance  on  the 
spur  in  front,  the  Seaforth  Highlanders  to  prolong  to  the  left, 
the  Argyle  and  Sutherland  Highlanders  to  prolong  to  the  right, 
the  Highland  I/ight  Infantry  in  reserve.  Five  minutes  earlier 
(the  kopje  looming  in  the  distance).  Major  Benson  had  asked 
Major-General  Wauchope  if  he  did  not  consider  it  to  be  time  to 
deploy.  Lieut. -Colonel  Hughes-Hallett  states  that  the  extension 
could  have  taken  place  200  yards  sooner,  but  the  leading  battalion 
got  thrown  into  confusion  in  the  dark  by  a  very  thick  bit  of  bush 
about  20  to  30  yards  long.  The  Seaforth  Highlanders  went  round 
this  bush  to  the  right,  and  had  just  got  into  its  original  position 
behind  the  Black  Watch  when  the  order  to  extend  was  given  by 
Major-General  Wauchope  to  the  Black  Watch.  The  Seaforth 
Highlanders  and  two  companies  of  the  Argyll  and  Sutherland 
Highlanders  were  also  moving  out,  and  were  in  the  act  of  extend- 
ing when  suddenly  a  heavy  fire  was  poured  in  by  the  enemy,  most 
of  the  bullets  going  over  the  men. 

"  Lieut. -Colonel  Hughes-Hallett  at  once  ordered  the  Seaforths  to 
fix  bayonets  and  charge  the  position.  The  officers  commanding 
the  other  battalions  acted  in  a  similar  manner.  At  this  moment 
some  one  gave  the  word  '  Retire.'  Part  of  the  Black  Watch  then 
rushed  back  through  the  ranks  of  the  Seaforths.  Lieut. -Colonel 
Hallett  ordered  his  men  to  halt  and  lie  down,  and  not  to  retire. 
It  was  now  becoming  quite  light,  and  some  of  the  Black  Watch 
were  a  little  in  front,  to  the  left  of  the  Seaforths." 

As  soon  as  light  permitted  the  artillery  opened  fire.  The  Sea- 
forths having  had  no  orders,  the  commanding  officer  tried  to  reach 
the  trenches,  about  400  yards  off,  but  as  soon  as  the  companies 
moved  the  officers  and  half  the  men  fell  before  a  very  heavy  fire. 
Ten  minutes  later  another  rush  was  tried,  with  the  same  fatal  ill- 
success,  and  the  fragment  of  the  regiment  lay  down   where  they 


314  APPENDICES 

■were.  Meanwhile  the  9th  and  12th  Lancers,  G  Battery,  Royal 
Horse  Artillery,  and  mounted  infantry  were  working  on  the  right 
flank.  At  twelve  o'clock  noon  the  Gordons  went  forward  to  sup- 
port the  Highland  Brigade  by  order  of  Lord  Methuen,  who  adds 
that  "the  trenches,  even  after  the  bombardment  of  lyddite  and 
shrapnel  since  daybreak,  were  too  strongly  held  to  be  cleared  ;  " 
but  "  the  battalion  did  splendid  work  throughout  the  day."  Con- 
tinuing the  story  from  this  point  Lord  Methuen  states  : 

"  At  I  p.m.  the  Seaforth  Highlanders  found  themselves  exposed 
to  a  heavy  crossfire,  the  enemy  trying  to  get  round  to  the  right. 
The  commanding  officer  brought  his  left  forward.  An  order  to 
*  Retire  '  was  given,  and  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  casualties  occurred.  The  retirement  continued  for  500  ^^ards, 
and  the  'Highlanders  '  remained  there  till  dusk.  Lieut. -Colonel 
Downman,  commanding  Gordons,  gave  the  order  to  retire,  because 
he  found  his  position  untenable,  so  soon  as  the  Seaforth  Highland- 
ers made  the  turning  movement  to  the  right.  This  was  an  unfor- 
tunate retirement,  for  Lieut. -Colonel  Hughes-Hallet  had  received 
instructions  from  me  to  remain  in  position  until  dusk,  and  the 
enemy  were  at  this  time  quitting  the  trenches  by  tens  and 
twenties. ' ' 

One  paragraph  is  devoted  to  the  gallant  leader  of  the  Highland 
Brigade,  and  the  General  sums  up  the  failure  : 

''Major-General  Wauchope  told  me,  when  I  asked  him  the  ques- 
tion, on  the  evening  of  the  loth,  that  he  quite  understood  his 
orders,  and  made  no  further  remaik.  He  died  at  the  head  of  the 
brigade,  in  which  his  name  will  always  remain  honoured  and 
respected.  His  high  military  reputation  and  attainments  disarm  all 
criticism.  Every  soldier  in  my  division  deplores  the  loss  of  a 
fine  soldier,  and  a  true  comrade. 

"The  attack  failed  :  the  inclement  weather  was  against  success  ; 
the  men  in  the  Highland  Brigade  were  ready  enough  to  rally,  but 
the  paucity  of  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  rendered 
this  no  easy  matter.  I  attach  no  blame  to  this  splendid  brigade. 
From  noon  until  dark  I  held  my  own  opposite  to  the  enemy's 
intrenchments. '  * 


APPENDIX  X. 

SUMMARY   OF   EVENTS  SINCE  THE  RELIEF   OF   KIMBERLEY. 

The  general  narrative  of  the  campaign  breaks  off  in  the  preced- 
ing chapters  at  various  interesting  points.  Kimberley  has  been 
relieved,  and  the  first  step  has  been  taken  towards  recovering  the 
ground  lost  when  Lord  Methuen  received  his  check  at  Maaghers- 
fontein. 

Not  a  moment  was  lost  by  Lord  Roberts  in  pushing  his  advan- 
tage home.  On  the  day  following  the  Relief  of  Kimberley  he 
pressed  resolutely  forward  and  occupied  Jacobsdal,  which  is  well 
within  the  Free  State  territory.  His  strategy  was  so  well  planned 
that  the  Boers  under  General  Cronje,  who  had  so  stubbornly  re- 
sisted the  advance  of  Lord  Methuen,  precipitately  fled  from  their 
trenches  at  Maaghersfontein,  their  places  being  taken  by  the 
British  Guards.  General  French,  with  his  cavalr}',  and  Kelly- 
Kenny,  with  the  Sixth  Division,  at  once  started  in  pursuit,  and  a 
general  movement  was  developed  by  means  of  which  Cronje's 
force  was,  on  the  ytli  February,  overtaken  and  completely  sur- 
rounded at  Paardeberg. 

The  Boer  General,  with  rare  sagacity  for  one  who  was  already 
in  a  hopeless  position,  established  himself  in  the  bed  of  the 
Modder  River,  and  there  intrenched  himself  within  an  area  of  one 
square  mile,  in  the  hope  that  reinforcements  would  come  up  either 
from  Ladysmith  or  Cape  Colony  and  rescue  him  from  his  pursuers. 
But  his  hope  was  vain.  Lord  Roberts  commenced  a  terrific  bom- 
bardment of  his  laager.  It  is  said  that  no  fewer  than  one  hundred 
and  ten  guns  were  concentrated  upon  him  and  his  unfortunate 
forces. 

Lord  Roberts  beat  off  comparatively  small  bodies  of  reinforce- 
ments which  ventured  into  the  neighbourhood,  and  on  the  19th 
General  Cronje,  apparently  realising  the  futility  of  further  resist- 
ance, asked  for  an  armistice.  To  this  request  Lord  Kitchener  gave 
the  now  historical  reply,  *'  Not  a  minute,"  and  the  bombardment 


3i6  APPENDICES 

was  continued  more  furiously  than  ever.  The  British  General's 
final  defeat  of  the  Boer  reinforcements  took  place  on  the  20th. 
The  indomitable  Cronje  still  held  out,  however,  and  during  the 
next  seven  days  showed  a  tenacity  of  purpose  which  marks  him 
as  one  of  the  most  stubborn  soldiers  w^ho  ever  lived. 

On  the  27th  he  abandoned  his  last  hope,  and,  by  a  happy  chance 
on  the  anniversary  of  Majuba  Day,  surrendered  to  Lord  Roberts 
with  over  four  thousand  officers  and  men. 

The  news,  as  may  be  imagined,  was  received  in  Great  Britain 
and  throughout  the  Empire  with  the  wildest  enthusiasm,  especially 
on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  chief  honours  of  the  final  rush 
which  settled  Cronje's  fate  were  shared  with  the  Gordon  High- 
landers by  the  Canadians. 

General  Cronje  was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Capetown,  in  charge  of 
General  Pretyman,  and  Roberts  continued  his  march  on  the 
Orange  capital.  On  Tuesday,  March  13th,  the  first  part  of  the 
campaign  from  Cape  Colony  was  brought  to  a  glorious  conclusion. 
Lord  Roberts  being  able  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  in  a  dispatch 
which  will  long  be  memorable,  to  telegraph  to  his  Government : — 

"  By  the  help  of  God  and  by  the  bravery  of  her  Majesty's  sol- 
diers, the  troops  under  my  command  have  taken  possession  of 
Bloemfontein. 

"  The  British  flag  now  flies  over  the  Presidency,  vacated  last 
evening  by  Mr.  Steyn,  late  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State." 

Meanwhile  great  events  w-ere  happening  in  Natal.  The  main 
narrative  closed  with  the  failure  of  General  Buller's  third  attempt 
to  relieve  Ladysmith.  That  was  on  February  ytli.  It  was  not 
until  the  20th  that  a  further  effort  was  made,  and  General  Hart 
crossed  the  Tugela  and  occupied  Colenso.  Even  then  it  seemed 
impossible  for  the  gallant  British  troops  to  make  headway,  for 
General  Buller  himself  w-as  on  the  south  of  the  Tugela  six  days 
later.  Majuba  Day,  however,  brought  luck  to  Buller  as  it  had 
done  to  Roberts.  Pieter's  Hill  was  stormed  and  the  Boers'  main 
position  was  carried.  Buller  had  fought  for  four  days  and  had 
sustained  severe  losses  throughout.  The  renowned  Inniskillings 
were  almost  destroyed.  Buller  reported  afterwards,  however,  that 
the  victory  he  had  gained  far  exceeded  his  expectations. 

The  road  was  at  last  cleared  to  Ladysmith.  Lord  Dundonald,  at 
the  head  of  his  cavalry,  which  had  done  such  splendid  service  be- 
fore the  battle  of  Spion  Kop,  succeeded  in  penetrating  through  the 


APPENDICES  317 

intervening  country,  and  actually  entered  the  beleaguered  to-wn  on 
February  28th.  The  formal  entry  of  General  BuUer  into  Lady- 
smith  occurred  three  days  later,  and  thus  the  long  siege,  which  had 
lasted  from  November  2nd,  was  triumphantly  brought  to  an  end. 

It  should  not  be  overlooked  that,  ever  since  we  had  any  news 
from  Ivadysmith  at  all,  we  had  had  nothing  but  the  most  cheerful 
reports  declaring  the  garrison  to  be  in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  to 
be  well  provided  with  food  and  ammunition.  The  world  now 
learned  that  they  had  undergone  unheard-of  privations,  that  the 
whole  camp  was  a  hospital,  that  the  artillery  ammunition  was 
practically  exhausted,  and  that  both  the  military  and  the  civil 
population  were  reduced  to  the  last  extremity.  It  was,  indeed,  a 
community  of  living  skeletons  which  greeted  its  deliverer. 

Again,  as  when  Kimberley  was  relieved  and  when  Cronje  sur- 
rendered, there  was  unbounded  rejoicing  among  Britons  all  over 
the  world. 

A  few  lines  are  necessary-  to  summarise  one  branch  of  the  cam- 
paign which  has  not  yet  been  noticed — the  campaign  along  the 
Orange  River  in  the  north  and  north-east  of  Cape  Colony. 

General  Gatacre,  with  the  Third  Division,  which  had  been 
broken  off  from  the  original  Army  Corps  and  had  now  become  a 
rather  weak  and  confused  independent  force,  was  sent  to  stem  the 
tide  of  Boer  invasion,  and  to  check,  if  possible,  the  spreading 
spirit  of  revolt  among  the  Cape  Dutch.  It  was  obvious  from  the 
first  that  he  had  an  arduous  task  before  him.  After  the  battle  of 
Elandslaagte,  in  Natal,  General  French  was  sent  round  to  his  as- 
sistance, and  speedily,  with  his  cavalry,  made  a  strong  impression 
upon  the  enemy.  He  could  not,  however,  effect  much  be^^ond  re- 
connaissances, and  e^en  these  did  not  save  General  Gatacre  from 
a  severe  reverse  when,  in  attacking  Stormberg  on  December  loth, 
he  was  misled  by  his  guides  into  what  was  practically  an  ambus- 
cade and  lost  hundreds  of  his  men.  Since  that  date  General  Gatacre 
has  done  but  little.  The  operations  of  Lord  Roberts  on  the  Mod- 
der  River  and  of  Buller  on  the  Tugela  has  at  length,  however, 
relieved  the  pressure  in  the  Stormberg  region  and  enabled  Gatacre 
with  his  whole  force  to  cross  the  Orange  River  and  occupy  Bethu- 
lie.  His  field  of  action  is  thus  transferred  to  the  Orange  Free 
State,  where  he  will  doubtless  co-operate  wnth  Roberts. 

There  are  still  two  minor  operations  to  be  noticed,  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  which  have  caused  them  to  arouse  an  enormous 


3i8  APPENDICES 

amount  of  public  interest.  The  first  is  the  gallant  stand  which 
Colonel  Plumer  wdth  a  mere  handful  of  men  has  made  on  the 
Transvaal-Rhodesia  frontier.  He  has  not  only  prevented  the 
Boers  from  invading  Rhodesia,  but  he  has  been  able  to  clear  them 
out  of  the  surrounding  country  and  to  make  a  memorable  march 
southward. 

The  object  of  his  march  was  to  relieve  a  garrison  which  may  be 
said  to  have  supplied  the  most  romantic  episode  of  the  war.  At 
Mafeking,  the  frontier  village  from  which  Dr.  Jameson  started  on 
his  famous  raid,  Colonel  Baden-Powell  was  beleaguered  by  a  large 
Boer  force,  which  was  at  first  under  command  of  the  redoubtable 
Cronje. 

The  actual  investment  took  place  about  the  middle  of  October, 
and  there  is  no  authentic  news  that  it  is  ended  even  yet.  It  is  im- 
possible to  exaggerate  the  admiration  which  has  been  felt  for  the 
little  garrison,  whose  real  sufferings  will  probably  be  found  to  have 
eclipsed  even  those  of  Ladysmith,  and  who  may  well  repeat  on 
their  own  behalf  Sir  George  White's  proud  boast  "that  at  all 
events  he  had  kept  the  British  flag  flying." 


INDEX. 


Afrikander  Bond,  the  sym- 
pathy of  with  the  Transvaal, 

30- 

Alexandersfontein,  Boers  routed 
and  their  laager  seized  at, 
264. 

Ambulance  : 

Fired  on  by  Boers,  154. 
Stretcher  -  bearers  '     bravery, 
223. 

Army  Service  Corps,  organisa- 
tion of,  lOI. 

Basuto  Land,  the  Switzerland 

of  South  Africa,  2. 
Baden-Powell,  Colonel,  splendid 
defence  of  Maf  eking  by ,  3 1 8. 
Battles  : 

Alexandersfontein,  at,  264. 

Belmont,  at,  129. 

Colenso,  of,  92. 

Elandslaagte,  of,  84. 

Glencoe,  of,  82. 

Graspan,  or  Enslin,  141. 

Horrors  of,  to  be  seen  outside 
the  range  of  fire,  223. 

Kimberley,  outside,  271. 

Laing's  Nek,  20. 


Battles  {continued) — 

Maaghersfontein,   of,  93,  174. 

Majuba  Hill,  20. 

Nicholson's  Nek,  39,  88. 

Pieter's  Hill,  316. 

Rietfontein,  at,  86. 

Scenes  and  sounds  of  modern, 
219. 

Spion  Kop,  of,  95. 

Stormberg,  93,  317. 

Traits  of  modern,  212. 

Waggon  Hill,  of,  94. 
Belmont  battle,  description  of, 

130. 
Bloemfontein  : 

Capital   of  the    Orange   Free 
State,  5. 

Captured     by    Andries     Pre- 
torius,  16. 

Taken  by  Lords  Roberts,  316. 
Boers,  the  : 

Anecdotes  about,  202. 

As  slave-drivers,  10. 

At  home,  61. 

Boastful  because  of  their  vic- 
tories, 22. 

Camps  : 

Adjuncts  of,  136. 
19 


320 


INDEX 


Boers,  the  {continued) — 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
38. 

Cannot  be  compared  to  the 
founders  of  the  North  Amer- 
ican Republic,  12. 

Character  of,  7. 

Characteristic  aims  of,  9. 

Combination  of  Dutch  and 
French  Huguenots,  a,  8. 

Costume  worn  by  when  fight- 
ing, 138. 

Disastrous  effect  of  foreign 
agencies  among,  6. 

Double  dealing  of,  266. 

Drive  to  battle  in  carriages, 

138. 
Endeavour  of  to  shake  off  the 

British  yoke,  15. 
Establishment  of  the  Repub- 
lics by,  14. 
Generals  of  : 

Botha,  Commandant,  272. 

Cronje,  166,  315. 

Joubert,  General,  81. 

Meyer,  Lucas,  81. 

Viljoen,  81. 
Gin,  extensively  used  by,  161. 
"Great  Trek"  made  in  1836 

by,  13- 
Horses  of,  found  on  Modder 

River  Battle-field,  163. 
Ignorance  of,  66. 
Independence  of,  62. 
Intermarriage  of,  62. 
Methods  of  fighting,  135, 
Native  territories  invaded  by, 

24. 
Open  letter  to  a  Field-Cornet 

by  Julian  Ralph,  249. 


Boers,  the  {cofiiinued) — 
Participants    in    the   ' '  Great 

Trek,"  15. 
Places  of  danger  in  the  battles 

forced  on  subordinates  by, 

137- 
Reason  of  the  British  defeat 

at  Majuba  Hill  by,  21, 
Republican     com  munities 

among,  15. 
Retrogression  of,  23. 
Revolt  of  the  Transvaal  Boers, 

20. 
Ride  to  the  Front  on  inferior 

horses,    leaving  their    best 

chargers    to    retreat    with, 

138. 
Rude  graves  made  by  on  the 

battle-field,  162. 
Seldom  seen  in  battle,  232. 
10,000  of  them  journey  North 

and  East  in  1838,  13. 
Treatment  of  : 

Natives  by,  11, 

The  Refugees  by,  70. 
Trenches     of,     impregnable, 

232. 
Ultimatum  issued  by,  36. 
Wonderful  trenches  of,  160. 
Wretched    condition    of    the 

fighting,  136. 
Brakfontein   Range,  Movement 

of  Buller  on  the,  95. 
British  Army. 

In   South  Africa  at  the  out- 
break of  the  War,  37. 
Officers  of  : 

Characteristics  of,  55. 

Splendid  qualities  of  the,  57. 
Using    mud   to    colour  their 


INDEX 


321 


British  Army  {continued) — 
white   straps,   drums,    &c., 
125. 
British  Casualties  : 

Colenso,  at,  93. 

Elandslaagte,  at,  86. 

Glencoe,  at,  83. 

Graspan,  at,  146. 

Modder  River  Battle,  at,  156. 

Rietfontein,  at,  87. 
British  Generals  : 

Babbington,  General,  261. 

Buller,  Sir  Redvers,  38,  316. 

Clery,  Sir  Francis,  38,  94. 

Colville,  General,  261. 

Dundonald,  Lord,  94,  316. 

French,  General,  84,  315. 

Gatacre,  Sir  William,   38,   91. 

Hart,  General,  316. 

Hildyard,  General,  92. 

Kelly-Kenny,  General,  315. 

Kitchener,  Lord,  93. 

Lyttelton,  General,  95. 

Macdonald,  Sir  Hector,  261. 

Methuen,  Lord,  38,  91. 

Pole-Carew,      Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, 149,  165,  261. 

Roberts,  Field-Marshal  Lord, 
41,  93,  260. 

Symons,   Sir  William  Penn, 
81. 

Walker,  Sir  Forestier,  54. 

Warren,  Sir  Charles,  94,  95. 

Wauchope,  General,  179. 

White,  Sir  George,  80. 

Wood,    Major-General,     105, 
308. 

Yule,  General,  83. 
British     Government     slow     to 
realise  the  task  before  it, 38. 


British  officers  : 

Baden-Powell,  Colonel,  318. 

Barter,  Colonel,  133,  155,  169. 

Bond,  Captain,  155, 

Carleton,  Colonel,  88. 

Douglas,  Colonel,  261. 

Gough,  Colonel,  the  Hon.  G. 
H.,  108. 

Hall,  Major,  116. 

Hamilton,  Colonel,  85. 

Keith-Falconer,  Lieut. -Colo- 
nel, 119, 

Kekewich,  Colonel,  267. 

Lindley,  Major,  145. 

Macbean,  Colonel,  250. 

Mackenzie,  Captain,  99. 

May,  Captain,  272. 

Mess  of  the  Wessex  Fusiliers, 
192. 

Money,  Colonel,  112. 

O'Meara,  Major  W.  A.  T., 
269. 

Plumer,  Colonel,  318. 

Reason  why  the  Boers  can 
single  them  out,  119. 

Rimington,  Major,  127. 

Scott-Turner,    Colonel,    269- 

273- 
The  flower  of  England's  aris- 
tocracy, 55. 
Webster,  Lieutenant,  26S. 
Wood,  Captain,  119. 
British  reply  to  the  Boer  Ulti- 
matum, 37. 
British    transports    ordered    to 

Durham,  91. 
British  troops  : 

Despatched  in  force  after  Oct. 

31,  1899,  39. 
Moved  nearer  the  frontiers  of 


322 


INDEX 


British  troops  {continued)  — 
the  Free  State  and  Trans- 
vaal, 37. 

Movements  of  from  Capetown 
kept  secret,  48. 

150,000  men  sent  out,  41, 

Reinforced    by   calls   on   the 
Volunteers  and  Yeomanry-, 
40. 
Buller,  General  Sir  Redvers  : 

Army  Corps  under,  38. 

Determination    of   to    relieve 
Lady  smith,  91. 

Successful  in  relieving  Lady- 
smith,  317. 

Camps,  Boer  : 

Harrismith,  at,  38. 

Sandspruit,  at,  38. 

Volksrust,  at,  38. 
Cape  Colony  : 

English  first  spoken   in   the 
law  courts  of,  10. 

English    took   possession    in 
1795  of,  9. 

Population  of,  4. 

Size  of,  4 
Capetown  : 

Contrasts  between  British  sol- 
diers and  refugees  in,  60. 

Free   and   easy  manners    in, 

45. 
Headquarters   of   the   British 

army,  46. 
Idlers  and  millionaires  in,  68. 
Millionaires  at  the  hotels  of, 

71. 

Railway    station    of,    excite- 
ment at  the,  47. 

Refugees  in,  43. 


Capetown  {continued) — 
Relief  work  for  refugees  in, 

71,  72. 
Rich  refugees  in,  mean  char- 
acteristics of,  58. 
Shops  of,  45. 

Slender  variety  of  food  in,  46. 
Transfigured  by  the  war,  43. 
Variety  of  nationalities  to  be 

found  in,  44. 
Vehicles  of,  44. 
Chieveley,  destruction  of  a  Brit- 
ish armoured  train  near,  92. 
Christmas  : 

At  Kimberley,  274. 
Celebrated      in       Methuen's 

camp,  208. 
Cheering  the  Queen  in  camp 

at,  210. 
With  Methuen's  army,  204. 
Climatic     changes     in     South 

Africa,  74. 
Coldstream  Guards   the  first  to 
cross    the    Modder    River, 
164,  165. 
Colenso,  British  troops  at,  80. 
Colesberg,  abandonment  of  by 

the  British,  105. 
Colonial  contingents  furnished 

by  British  Colonies,  39. 
Convention   of    1884,    terms    of 

the,  25. 
Cronje,  Commandant  : 
Asks  for  an  armistice,  315. 
Flies  to  Paardeberg,  315. 
Sent  as  prisoner  to  Capetown, 

316. 
Surrenders  on  Majuba  Day, 
316. 


INDEX 


323 


Cronje,      Commandant       {co?i- 
tinued) — 
Surrounded  by  Lord  Roberts' 
army,  315. 

Dr  Aar  : 

British  headquarters  at,  100. 
P'ortiiications  of,  106. 
In  November,  i.Sgg,  97. 
Manners  at  headquarters   at, 

99- 
Martial    Law  proclaimed   in, 

106. 
Natives  at,  102. 
Perilous  position  of,  105. 
Rapid  growth  of.  103, 
Remount  kraal  at,  100. 
Situation  at,  104. 
De  Beers  Company's  liberality 

in  provisioning  Kimberley, 

269. 
Diamond  mines  at  Kimberle}-, 

3. 

Dundee,  Boers  march  on,  81. 

Dundonald,  Lord,  enters  Lady- 
smith,  316. 

Dust  and  khaki,  the  effect  of, 
122. 

Dutch  in  South  Africa.  The 
Historical  Foreword,  i, 

Bl<ANDSI.AAGTE  : 
Battle  of,  84. 
British  troops  at,  80. 
Occupied  by  Boers,  81, 
Emancipation    Act    passed     in 

England  in  1834,  10. 
Enslin  or  Graspan,  description 
of  the  battle  of,  141. 


Fait.urr  of  Buller's  : 

First  attempt  to  relieve  Lady- 
smith,  93. 

Second  attempt  to  relieve 
Ladysmith,  94, 

Third  attempt  to  relieve 
Ladysmith,  95. 

Franchise  discussed  by  Kmger 

and  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  3. 
French,  General : 

Cavalrv'  move  forward  under, 
262. 

First  action  by,  84. 

IMove  of  to  join  Lord  Roberts, 
260. 

Relief  of  Kimberley  by,  264. 

Starts  in  pursuit   of  Cronje, 

315- 
Frere,  British  camp  at,  92. 
Fresh     appointments    by     the 

British  Government,  93. 
Fusillade  kept  up  by  the  Boers 

at  Modder  River  battle,  152. 

Gatacre,  General,  movements 

of,  317- 
Glencoe  : 
Battle  of,  82. 
British  troops  at,  80. 
Junction  occupied  by  Boers, 
81. 
Gold: 

Discovered  at  Witwatersrand 

in  1885,  26. 
In  the  Transvaal,  3. 
Gough,    Colonel,    forces  under 

at  Belmont,  115. 
Griqualand  formed,  1S69,  iS. 


324 


INDEX 


Guards,  The : 
Belmont,  at,  131. 
Modder  River,  at,  150-152. 

Harbours  : 

Beira,  2. 
Capetown,  2. 
Delagoa  Bay,  2. 
Durban,  2. 
Saldanha  Bay,  2. 
Walfish  Bay,  2. 
Heliographic       communication 
opened  with  Lady  smith,  94. 
Highland  Brigade  at  Maaghers- 
fontein,  the  : 
Charge  of,  179. 
Losses  of,  190. 
Their  own  explanation,  190. 
True  story  of,  186. 
Hildyard,     General,    successful 
action   at    Willow    Grange 
by,  92. 
Honey   Nest    Kloof,    watering- 
place  at,  147. 
Hotel  with    mud  walls  on    an 
island  in  the  Modder  River, 
214. 

Jacobsdai,  : 

Mounted  infantry  moving  to, 

263. 
Occupied   by    Lord    Roberts, 

264. 
Stores  of  food  and  ammuni- 
tion seized  by  the   British 
at,  265. 
Jameson  Raid,   objects  of  the, 

29. 
Johannesburg,   a  German  opin- 
ion of,  73. 


Kaffirs,    the,   generous  treat- 
ment of  by  the   British,  79. 
Karroo  Desert,  the,  description 

of,  75- 
Keith-Falconer,  Lieut. -Colonel, 

death  of,  119. 
Kekewich,       Colonel,       forces 
under     his     command     at 
Kimberley,  267. 
Khaki,  the  advantages  of,  124. 
Kimberley  : 

British  force  in,  38. 
Christmas  at,  in  1899,  274. 
Claims    of    ownership    when 
diamonds  were  found  at,  17. 
Diamond  mines  of,  3. 
Food  prices  fixed  at,  270. 
Gun     manufactured    at    the 
DeBeers'  workshop  in,  274. 
French  relieves,  264. 
Martial  law  proclaimed  in,  268. 
Record  of  the  siege  of,  267. 
Search-lights  at,  271. 
Siege  of  raised,  275. 
Sorties  from,  271-273. 
Kitchener,  Lord  : 
Appointed  Chief  of  the  Staff, 

93- 
Reply  of  to  Cronje's  request 

for  an  armistice,  315. 
Klip  Drift,  French  •rosses  the 

Modder  at,  263. 
Kruger,  President  : 
Correspondence   of  with    Sir 

Alfred  Milner,  29. 
Speech  of  on  England's  High 

Commissioners  at  the  Cape, 

51. 
Storj'  of    after    his    visit   to 
London,  66. 


INDEX 


325 


Ladysmith  : 

British  troops  at,  80. 
Invested  by  the  Boers,  87. 
Privations  of,  317. 
Relieved   on    February   28th, 

317- 
Sir  George  White  at,  83. 
Straits   of    the    garrison    of, 

94- 
Letter  to  a   Field-Cornet    from 
Julian  Ralph,  249-259. 

Maaghersfontkin  : 
British  forces  at,  176. 
Description  of  the  battle  of, 
174. 
Macdonald,  General  Sir  Hector, 
Chief  of  the  Highland  Bri- 
gade, 261. 
Mafeking  : 

British  force  in,  38. 
The  defence  of,  318. 
Manica  Land,  beautiful  scenery 

of,  2. 
Matjesfontein,     description     of 
Mr.  J.  D.  Logan's  property 
at,  77. 
INIess,  the  : 

Kitchen    of     the     Yorkshire 
Light  Infantry,  description 
of,  206. 
Luncheon  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  shells,  216. 
Of  the  Wessex  Fusiliers,  inci- 
dents at,  192. 
Methuen's  army  : 

And  the  halt  after  Maaghers- 

fontein,  228. 
Start  for  the  relief  of  Kimber- 
ley,  91. 


Milner,  Sir  Alfred  : 

American  opinion  of,  51. 
Correspondence     of      with 

Kruger,  29. 
Great  capacities  of,  53, 
Representations  made   by  in 

1899  to  Kruger,  31. 
Trials  of,  49. 

Modder  River  : 

Battle,  description  of,  149. 
Battle-field,  description  of,  1 58 
Camp,  the  long  wait  at,  212.  . 

Modern  War  Methods,  228. 

Mules  and    horses    purchased, 
100. 

Naauwpoort,  abandonment  of 

by  the  British,  105. 
Natal. 
Boer  : 

Invasion  of  on  October  12, 

1899,  81. 
Republic  for  six  years  only, 
a,  15- 
British  force  in,  38. 
Buller's  arrival  in,  91. 
Invaded  by  the  Boers  first  in 

1838,.  14. 
Population  of,  4. 
Size  of,  4,  5. 
Naval  Brigade  at  Graspan,  gal- 
lantry of  the,  144. 
Newcastle     occupied     by     the 

Boers,  81. 
Nicholson's   Nek    Disaster,    re- 
sponsibility of,  claimed  by 
Sir  G.  White,  90. 

Orange  Free  State,  The  : 
Boers  of  superior  to  those  of 
the  Transvaal,  iS. 


326 


INDEX 


Orange    Free    State,  the  {con- 
tinued)— 
Claimed  ^^90,000  for  Kimber- 

ley,  18. 
Independence  granted   to  in 

1854,  17. 
Population  of,  5. 
Size  of,  5. 
Orange  River  Camp,  headquar- 
ters at  during  a  battle,  109. 
Ostrich  in  camp,  an,  117. 

Padre;    H11.1.,    courage    of,   at 

Belmont,  199. 
Padre  Robertson  : 
In  the  Boer  lines,  200. 
Pluck  of,  199. 
Plumer,  Colonel,  work  done  by 

the  column  under,  318. 
Pole-Carew,    Brigadier-General, 
given  the  command  of  the 
Guards  Brigade,  261. 
Petitions  signed  by  Uitlanders, 

26-2S. 
Pietermaritzburg  : 
British  troops  at,  80. 
Established  by  the  Boers,  14. 
Pretorius,  Andries,  rising  under, 
16. 

QuEENSTOWN,   Gatacre's   force 
at,  91. 

Ramdam,  Roberts'  army  at,  263, 
Refugees   from   the   Transvaal, 

treatment  of  by  the  Boers, 

70. 
Retief,  Pieter,  invasion  of  Natal 

by,  14. 
Rhodes,  Cecil  : 

At  Kimberley,  268. 


Rhodes,  Cecil  {continued)  — 
To  the  rescue  in  the  matter  of 

Christmas  fare,  274. 
Rimington's    Scouts,    contrasts 

in,  128. 
Rivers  in  South  Africa  : 
Buffalo,  the,  81. 
Klip,  87. 

Modder,  the,  147,  264,  315. 
Orange  River,  the,  104. 
Riet,  the,  263. 
Tugela,  the,  81. 
Roberts,  Field-Marshal  Lord  : 
Army  moving  forward  under, 

262. 
Bombardment     of      Cronje's 

laager  by,  315. 
Comm.ander-in-Chief  in  South 

Africa,  93. 
Cronje  and  his  army  surren- 
ders to,  316, 
Move  of  into  the  Free  State, 

262. 
Supreme  command  accepted 

by,  41. 
Takes  possession  of  Bloemfon- 

tein,  316. 
Visit  of  to  De  Aar,  260. 
Roberts,    Lieutenant  the  Hon. 

Frederick,  news  of  his  death 

at  Colenso,  41. 
Rouliot,    M.,    President   of  the 

Chamber  of  Mines  at  Johan- 
nesburg, 27. 

Sand  River  Convention  of  1852, 
terms  of  the,  16. 

Scenes  of  modern  war,  descrip- 
tion of,  220. 

Sensations  when  wounded,  225. 


INDEX 


327 


Smith,  Sir  Harry,  facts  about,  16. 
Smokeless  powder,  the   effects 

of,  233. 
Soldiers  : 
Going  to  the  Front  from  Cape- 
town, 47. 
Peculiarities  of  soldier  serv- 
ants, 205. 
South  Africa  : 

Cities  of,    two    only   of    any 

size,  3. 
Divisions  of  : 
Cape  Colony,  4. 
Natal,  4. 

Orange  Free  State,  4. 
The  Transvaal,  4. 
Dust  of,  the,  122. 
Dutch  settled  in  1652  in,  8. 
Elevation    of     English     and 

Dutch  domains, 
French  Huguenots  settled  in 

1689  in,  8. 
Harbours  of,  2. 
November  climate  of,  74. 
Pasturage  of,  3. 
Physical  geography  of,  i,  2. 
Sameness  of  scenery  in,  2. 
Sparsely  inhabited,  3. 
Temperature  of,  3. 
Stellenbosch,  a  supply  base  for 

the  British,  98. 
Steyn,  President,  flees  from  his 

capital,  316. 
Summary  of   events   since   the 

relief  of  Kimberley,  315. 
Symons,  Sir  W.  Peuu,  death  of, 
82. 

TaIvANA  Hill,  Boer  position  on, 
82. 


"  Tommies  "  : 
Anxious    for    the   officers  to 

dress  like  themselves,  127. 
No     depredations     on     Boer 

property  by  the,  264. 
Of  conspicuous  gallantry  : 

Bennett,    Lance  -  Corporal, 
184. 

Cassen,  Sergeant,  184. 

Mawhood,  Private,  184. 
Water-bottles,    the   filling   of 

the,  167. 
Transvaal,  the  : 

Aliens  Expulsion  Act  in,  27. 
Boer  : 

Home  in,  64. 

Wars  with  the  natives,  19. 
Established    as   a    semi-inde- 
pendent State  in  1881,  21. 
Foreign  parasites  of  the  Boers 

spread  discontent,  6. 
Gold  in,  3. 
Greater  independence  gained 

in  1884  by   a     new   treaty, 

24. 
Growth   of  the    revenue    of, 

26. 
Mistake  by  the  English  in  the 

government  of,  20. 
Pasture  land  of,  5, 
^Population  of,  5. 
Size  of,  5. 
Terms  of  naturalisation  fixed 

by,  29. 
Treaty  made  by  Gladstone  in 

1881  with,  21. 
War  : 

Declared  against  England, 
October  9,  1S99,  35. 

Munitions  amassed  by,  35. 


328 


INDEX 


Tugela,  the  : 

Bridges  over  destroyed  by  the 

Boers,  92. 
Recrossed  by  Buller,  94-95. 

UiTi^ANDERS,  the  : 
Grievances  of,  26-29. 
National  Union  formed  by  in 
1892,  28. 

VoivUNTEERS  : 

City    of     Ivondon     Imperials 

raised,  40,  94. 
Colonial,  40,  94. 

Wai^ker,    Sir    Forestier,    facts 

about,  54. 
War  correspondents  : 

Knight,  E.  F.,  133. 

Knox,  Mr.,  153. 

Under  fire,  incidents  of,  236- 
48. 
Wright,  Captain,   iii. 
Warren,    Sir    Charles,   division 

under,  94. 


Water  : 

Scarcity  of  after  Graspan,  172. 
The  delights  of  after  fighting 

and  marching,  147. 
The  value    of   on   Methuen's 
march,  167. 
Waterboer     declared   owner   of 

Kimberley,  18. 
Waterfall  Drift,  French  crosses 

the  Riet  River  at,  263. 
White,  Sir  George  : 

Arrival  of  at   Durban  in  Oc- 
tober, 80. 
Disposal  of  his  forces  by,  81. 
Effort  of  to  harass  the  enemy 
at  Lady  smith,  88. 
White  people,    the  scarcity  of, 

except  in  Natal,  i. 
Witwatersrand,  gold  discovered 
in  1885  at,  26. 

Yorkshires  at    Maaghersfon- 

tein,  the,  183. 
Yule,    General,    joining    hands 

with  Sir  George  White,  86. 


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